I had the opportunity to tell a story from the very beginning of my rabbinate in the last few days.
In August, 1981, I was scheduled to attend the Conference on Alternatives in Jewish Education (CAJE) at Oberlin College. One of my rabbinic school classmates was expecting me to provide a ride. A death in the congregation (Temple Israel), while my senior rabbi was away, delayed my attendance. A Religious School faculty member gave my classmate a ride to Oberlin on the Sunday that the conference began. I officiated at the funeral in Cincinnati on Tuesday. I got up early the next morning to take in at least one day of CAJE.
What I remember from that one day was seeing many people I knew, finding several meaningful learning experiences even in a very short time, and enjoying a Debbie Friedman concert that night. It was enough to make me want to return.
And so I did, sometimes with my wife Rhonda, and sometimes with our son Adam as well. Rhonda and I attended in 1982 soon after our wedding. As a rabbi, a religious school director and faculty member, a bar/bat mitzvah tutor, a religious school music teacher, and a Confirmation class teacher, there was so much to learn that I felt I needed an annual infusion of insights, knowledge, direction, inspiration, and clues on how to develop new skills to enhance the passing of Judaism from one generation to the next.
I attended the conference 18 times. I sang in the CAJE Chorale from its inception in 1989. Once I became a Jewish singer/songwriter, I performed my original music on CAJE stages for five years.
A variety of considerations required CAJE to close in 2008. The concept and spirit of CAJE, as well as the persistence of community ties that had developed over many years, combined to demand a renewal of the organization and conference in some form. A mini-conference in Baltimore in 2009 proved that notion, and then NewCAJE was born, holding its first conference at Gann Academy in Waltham, Massachusetts in 2010, which I attended during my rabbinic service in New Hampshire. I again joined the NewCAJE community in person in 2015, 2016 and 2017 as a rabbi from New Mexico.
I have just returned from NewCAJE 10, held on July 28-31 at Reed College in Portland, Oregon. I have only traveled to the Pacific Northwest (Washington and Oregon) because of CAJE/NewCAJE!
Admittedly, I could feel the “miles” on my personal odometer over these last few days. However, my continuing thirst for new insights, skills and knowledge is the same as in the summer of 1981, when I was a mere 26 years old!
I attended sessions on teaching about antisemitism, Judaism’s views on welcoming the stranger and how they relate to immigration, the links between songwriting and lesson planning, songs about God, treasure troves of Jewish music to share with students, how to create productive dialogue about peace in the Middle East, and the transmission of tradition embodied in the rituals and prayers of the Passover Seder. I once again added my “bari-tenor” voice to the NewCAJE Chorale, directed by Ellen Allard, and a number of us were treated to a delightful session with Eric Kimmel, author of Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins.
It was a m’chayeh to be part of a community that included a few people whom I have known for over 40 years, along with other familiar NewCAJE participants, plus discoveries of “small world” connections (which included colleagues and family members) with attendees I had just met.
The late-night “kumsitz” (come and sit) is a CAJE and NewCAJE tradition, providing an opportunity for us to engage in a musical jam with colleagues. This year, those of us who brought guitars (some of have done this together before...a lot) and ukeleles and everyone present sang classic Jewish/Israeli songs and popular hits from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. It was an intergenerational community that joined in song until the early hours of the morning!
The concluding ceremony on Wednesday, July 31 was an expression of heartfelt gratitude from individuals who spoke for many of us. To Cherie Keller-Fox, NewCAJE President, staff, and everyone who made NewCAJE10 possible, thank you, and to NewCAJE, on to 11 and many, many more!
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