Biennial Day 4--Shabbat

Had a chance to sleep in a little bit today, since we didn't need to be back to the convention center for Shabbat services until a little later in the morning.  Services were just as crowded as last night.  While they were enjoyable, they didn't have the same impact on me as Friday night services did.  Services Friday night seemed more "chamish" while the services this morning seemed more "performance" like.  I hard similar rumblings from some others.  As part of the service, Rabbi Yoffie delivered his presidential sermon.  The full text of the sermon can be found at http://urj.org/about/union/leadership/yoffie/?syspage=article&item_id=27481.  Rabbi Yoffie covered 3 main areas during his sermon:

• Ethical Eating
• Embracing Technology
• Support of Israel

Each year there are initiatives from the biennial sermon.  These can be found at http://urj.org/biennial/initiatives/.  Following services I moved on to my Shabbat study luncheon.  The subject I chose was Jews and Germans after the Holocaust:  History, Memory, Identity presented by Dr. Sharon Gillerman.  It was an interesting presentation and discussion which followed.

After the study session, I headed over for a session called Learning, Singing, and Eating: Havdalah with URJ Books and Music.  First was a short presentation by Tina Wasserman who has been at the biennial all week.  She has recently published Entree to Judaism: A Culinary Exploration of the Jewish Diaspora (http://www.urjbooksandmusic.com/product.php?productid=10093&cat=0&page=1&featured).  Following her presentation was a concert by Peter and Ellen Allerd and then an example of using the new The Tot Shabbat Handbook for havdalah.

Next we headed off to dinner with Rabbi Golomb, his brother, and sister-in-law.  When we returned from dinner, I caught the end of an acoustic set by Noam Katz.  Then I headed in for the evening program which was called "FaithJAM".  It was an interfaith celebration designed to build bridges of cultural exchange between various faith communities.  The program was amazing and included an appeal by Rabbi David Saperstein from the RAC to help fight hunger.  After the evening program, I headed over for the late night music program which included performances by Michelle Citron, Vanessa Hidary, and Chana Rothman.  Another great night of music at the biennial.

Seth