people of the link @ the contemporary jewish museum 2010
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LINK series Lecture titled "People of the Book, People of the Link" given by Estee Solomon Gray at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco, May 13 2010TRANSCRIPT
People of the Book, People of the Link
Estee Solomon Gray @estee
May 13, 2010 Erev Rosh Chodesh Sivan 5770 - 45th day of the Omer
The Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco
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“ opens the CJM as a laboratory to explore practical applications for forging new paths in Jewish education.”
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me
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because words matter Tonight
Launch Party D’var Torah
picture of child doing d’var torah
source: Solomon Gray family
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MEME (pronounced /miːm/, rhyming with "cream"[1])
a postulated unit of cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through writing, speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable
phenomena. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meme#Meme_maps
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D’VAR TORAH (Heb: דבר תורה) (Plural: Divrei Torah)
a talk on topics relating to a section (parashah) of the Torah – typically the weekly Torah portion. ... Divrei Torah can range in length ... In most congregations, it will not last much longer than fifteen minutes, but in the case of Rebbes or special occasions, a Dvar Torah can last all afternoon.
It is extremely likely that a D'var Torah will carry a life lesson, backed up by passages from certain Jewish texts like the Talmud or Mishnah.
It is also known as a Drasha in Ashkenazic communities. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D'var_Torah#D.27var_Torah
The institution of the d’var Torah--literally a "word of Torah," a lesson or sermon interpreting a text, which can be delivered by anyone, lay or clergy--reflects a fundamental Jewish belief in the infinite interpretive possibilities of Torah. This concept is best articulated in Mishnah Avot 5:22, “Turn it and turn it; for everything is in it,” and in the rabbinic assertion that each person who stood at Sinai saw a different face of Torah.
While the concept of the d’var Torah may be empowering, the prospect of preparing one can be intimidating. However, preparing and presenting a d’var Torah doesn't necessarily demand vast Jewish knowledge or extensive rhetorical skills. It requires only a willingness to explore a text and to share your exploration with others.
Dvar Torah: Preparation
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20001995 2005 20107
People of the Link
The link, not the book, is (and always has been)
the core of Judaism.
practice
value
meaning
concept▲
InterTwined , R. Justin Stewart ( www.rjustin.com )
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From
covenant & commandment to
community, commentary & conversation,
the most basic acts of Jewish life are all
forms of linking.
InterTwined , R. Justin Stewart ( www.rjustin.com )
textrituallearningprayerpracticepeoplehood
.....
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which means
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This is a great time and place to be & do Jewish !
“The #1 predictor of success in students today is the ability to organize study groups.”
John Seely Brown, When Push Turns to PullThe Churchill Club @the Computer History Museum, May 4, 2010
http://pennhillel.org/files/u64/SNL_brochure_pics__4_smaller.jpg
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Tree of Life, Lynn Silton, Palo Alto, 1997 silk, dyes, threads,paints, beads, stones
Birth of A Meme
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CONGRUITY
Estee’s professional/community life 1970-2010
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1995
1995
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life changing experience the C in MPJCDS
✔mother-in-law support system source: Solomon Gray family
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“Learning is Becoming”Learning is Social
not but
source: Institute for Research on Learning
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“We participate therefore we are.”Work is Social
not but
source:John Seely Brown
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COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE
The organizational development (OD) concept of a community of practice (often abbreviated as CoP)
refers to the process of social learning that occurs when people who have a common interest in
some subject or problem, collaborate to share ideas, find solutions, and build innovations.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_of_practice
“A social history of learning that has become a social structure.” Etienne Wenger, CP Square - Oct 2007
(often pronounced “see oh pea” or “cop”)
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source:John Seely Brown
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CoP = Learning = Innovation = Local Interpretation = Practice
“Wisdom resides in the skills,
understandings, and relationships… as
well as in the tools, documents, and
processes of practitioners in the field.”
participation
reification
meaning
meaning
identity
COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE
source: Etienne Wenger
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source:John Seely Brown
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Three Eras of Jewish HistoryThree Stages of Covenant
Rabbi Yitz Greenberg
[LAY? !
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omg-d moment
‣‘The Jews’ actually skipped the whole pyramid hierarchy thing.
‣ We’ve been living & evolving radically linked architectures for millennia.
So that’s why ...
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“People of the Book” NOT
“eglise” NOTmind freeing pair of facts
9th c. Quran Napoleon
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stopped-me-dead-in-my-tracks question
Why didn’t you tell me ?!
about what, John?
The TALMUD, of course
JSB
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Earth, Lynn Silton, Palo Alto, 1997 silk, dyes, threads,paints, beads, stones
So what does it MEAN?
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Link
NODENODE
link
TIE
relationship
connection
person G-dperson selfperson person
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Covenant
covenant
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Commandment on Shavuot
covenant
commandment / commandedness
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Commentary Community
Conversation and so on ..
commentary
community
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Connection Ruth
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Rabbi Lavey Darby Congregation Rodeph Shalom, Marin, @ Wexner Shabbaton
Relationship is the Jewish core
How do we know ?
Ask yourself ..
Why did OneGod not preserve peace and perfection? Why did OneGod create multiplicity ?
In order to be in relationship.
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Arnold Eisen, Chancellor of Jewish Theological Seminary, speaking to MPJCDS board, c 1997
To see oneself as a Jew is to see oneself as part of a conversation.
A conversation that extends over time, space, media, generations ..
In fact, Judaism IS the conversation.
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Jewish learning arises from & creates
Communities of Practice two ‘proof’ phrases
We learn, therefore we are.
and
“Lo ba’shamayim he” (It is not in heaven.)
source: Sacks, 1993 in Plaskoff, 2008
source:Talmud
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1. Learning is inherent in human nature.
2. Learning is the ability to negotiate meaning.
3. Learning creates bounded emergent structures.
4. Learning is fundamentally experiential and social.
5. Learning involves a transformation of identity thru trajectories of participation.
6. Learning involves social energy and power.
7. Learning involves engagement, imagination, and alignment.
8. Learning involves the interplay of the local and the global
source: Josh Plaskoff, PhD Thesis University of Indiana School of Education
Etienne’s Wenger’s 10 Principles of Learning in 8
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Babel, Lynn Silton, Palo Alto, 1999 silk, dyes, threads,paints, beads, stones
Ok, so what does it look like in practice?
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Learning
http://pennhillel.org/files/u64/SNL_brochure_pics__4_smaller.jpg
chevruta
va’ad
beit midrash
.....
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Chevruta Assignment On Arrogance
Social Talmud
+ ++
Mussar Institute Chaburah Program, Chevruta Study on Arrogance : Tractate Sotah pages 4b and 5a
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The Social Talmud
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Peoplehood
http://pennhillel.org/files/u64/SNL_brochure_pics__4_smaller.jpg
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“The network is emerging as the
signature form of organization
in the Information Age, just as
bureaucracy stamped the
Industrial Age.”
2001
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NETWORK STRUCTURE
(source: Connected, Christakis & Fowler)
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NETWORK CULTIVATION
(source: Patti Anklam)
NETWORK
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The Jewish Innovation Sector
“ Where the unity-focused system of the twentieth
century sought to bring together a diversity of
individuals in a single organization, the innovation
ecosystem fosters a diversity of organizations that
serve specific interests, or niches. The health of
each organization is not dependent on its size or
scale, but rather on the quality of its interactions,
the nature of its specialization, and its ability to
adapt. Organizations do not need to become large to
have impact. In fact, many participants prefer more
intimate settings.”
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Upstart Bay Area
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BLOGOSPHERE Source: Esther Kustanowitz
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BBYO
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Worship
‣ “A community that asks all Jews to take hold of Torah”
‣“A grassroots movement” Kehillat Hader ->
Machon Hadar ->Yeshivat Hadar
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Not new Rabbi Elie Kaunfer, Empowered Judaism
Judaism has always been a religion of grassroots organizing ...
The real question is not how are independent minyanim new, but how are suburban synagogues - a product of early to mid-twentieth century - a departure from a Jewish organizing heritage shared by minyanim, havurot and dozens of Jewish communal structures of years past.
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Not scary, either Rabbi Elie Kaunfer, Empowered Judaism
The crisis is not one of theory...
There is no new “big idea”; there is just investment in the old, but in a serious, meaningful, and thoughtful way.
A different kind of community is possible, and we are capable of building that community.
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Lessons from the Field notes on “Empowered Judaism”
‣Key success factors in founding an independent minyan: ‣an inspirational experience
‣a personal tie with someone else who started a minyan
‣dynamic networks
‣ freedom from organizational ties
‣Operations: ‣no central office
‣ ceding of control to small capable rotating core team
‣google for day-to-day tasks
‣ focus on the substance, not the institution
‣ “the stability of instability”
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Yeshivat Hadar
‣ Focused on building an empowered laity, not on ordaining rabbis
‣ Not limited to one gender
‣ An immersive encounter ; intensive schedule
‣ f2f as the “new” technology (computer free zone in beit midrash)
‣ Fellows, not just students
‣ Reclaiming language, reinventing form
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Shaken AssumptionsNew Realities
notes on “Empowered Judaism”
In a world with no clear answers , what better way to reflect on the assumptions by which we live our lives than to encounter the sometimes foreign and unfamiliar values inherent in our tradition and let ourselves be surprised, shocked and challenged by them? Torah study offers a way to approach the other.
... mixing among those with orthodox backgrounds and those without is very prevalent in the minyanim in a way unthinkable in a previous generation... That Jews are increasingly unwilling to settle for a broad definition is positive ... A world without convenient categories is a world that calls on people to take more ownership of the type of Judaism they want to practice in the world.
Minyangoers report they are affiliated with an average of five different Jewish communities ... a friend’s minyan in another city, an annual retreat ... and very comfortable meeting in non-jewish spaces,
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It is too soon to tell whether we are in the midst of a middle-sized blip in Jewish communal creativity, or the beginning of a major revival. But something is surely afoot, with activity in such diverse quarters as congregational life, social justice activism, experimental philanthropy, music, filmmaking, and other cultural endeavors.
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Jewish Education
http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:iixjTVjJ78tfYM:http://elearning.huc.edu/wordpress/continuinged/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/hebrew-notebook-260x300.jpg
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NY Coalition of Innovating Congregations Networks are the keystone.
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NY Coalition of Innovating Congregations - Social Network Analysis 2009
Documenting & Changing the Sad Reality
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Value Network Modeling - Facing History and Ourselves - ESG, 2009
Capturing & Cultivating the Intangible
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Tree of Life, Lynn Silton, Palo Alto, 1997 silk, dyes, threads,paints, beads, stones
Alright, alright, but SO WHAT?
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2010
2010
‣ Words Matter. ‣ Stories and metaphors communicate complex
wisdom. ‣ Models shape possibility. ‣ Language itself is action, Jewishly speaking.
‣ LINK is happening. ‣ text‣ ritual‣ learning‣ prayer‣ practice‣ peoplehood
‣ “& as we look to the week ahead..” ‣ all: “kneh l’cha kehillah” - Make yourself a
network‣ educators: relationship is your business.‣ entreprenuers & leaders: invest in the mesh.‣ technologists & creatives: sages you shall be! ‣ parents: stop worrying, start praising
‣Body Level Four
‣Body Level Five
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From
covenant & commandment to
community, commentary & conversation,
the most basic acts of Jewish life are all
forms of linking.
textrituallearningprayerpracticepeoplehood
.....
InterTwined , R. Justin Stewart ( www.rjustin.com )
People of the Book People of the Link
Even the Book is Linked.
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!
Please link yourself in !
The Most Famous Meme Map A More Linked Meme Map
(aka “O’Reilly’s web 2.0 meme map”) (aka “Estee’s Brain”)
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People of the Link
InterTwined , R. Justin Stewart ( www.rjustin.com )
www.peopleofthelink.org
@PeopleoftheLink#PotL
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@estee
SPECIAL THANKS TO Lynn Silton Esther Kustanowitz
Deb Schultz
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