Are you sick of the mudslinging? Looking for an honest, ethical candidate? Look no farther.
While I have been doing my best to hide it from my friends, family and the synagogue, one Or Ami congregant Kim Gubner did some powerful sleuthing, saw the national news report on my campaign and outed me. It is true! I am running a longshot campaign for President of the United States.
View the news report on Kipnes for President here.
I have discovered that if I really want to soak in the discussions during conferences or classes, I need to take notes. In recent years, I have taken to creating what I call "Conference Art," doodles done during discussions which keep my mind focused (multitasking, of course), and capture significant ideas or experiences. Sometimes these doodles are the work of one session; often they - like the conference - span a few days or a week. For me, they help me retain the essence of the experience.
At the recent Institute for Jewish Spirituality, Hevraya retreat in West Cornwall, Connecticut, we explored prayer, our prayer lives, and how every moment of every day can - with attention and intention - be a prayer. My Conference Art captures the spiritual exploration.
I just returned home from the Institute for Jewish Spirituality (IJS) Hevraya (spiritual alumni) retreat in West Cornwall, Connecticut. Five days of Jewish mindfulness meditation, yoga, intense study of Chasidic texts, self-reflective silence (for 15 hours a day), and some of the most uplifting prayer I have ever experienced. Rabbis, cantors, educators (my wife!) gathered together in spiritual exploration. We focused on prayer, and how every moment of every day can be a prayer of holiness. The retreat provided ample opportunity to reflect on my relationship with prayer. In preparation, I wrote a short exploration of how I felt about my own prayer life. Excerpts are below:
I stood on the bimah one Rosh Hashana, closing my eyes for Shema. We sing it with a contemporary tune – Listen written by our Cantor – which often sends flutters into my heart. Opening my eyes during the “Baruch Shem Kavod,” I saw a good percentage of the congregation standing with arms around each other. Some had their eyes closed; some were crying; some swaying slowly.
I flashed back to Martin Buber’s teaching that when two people engage in authentic meeting, becoming I and Thou, God is in that moment. A colleague once explained that God is “in the hug.” I flashed forward to a teaching that echad means more than “not two” (as in Zoroastriansim) and “not three” (as in Christianity) and “not many” (as in ancient Greek or modern Wiccan polytheism). That echad speaks of oneness; we are all part of the Oneness of YHVH (Adonai/the Holy One/God).
In that Rosh Hashana moment, as we stood arm in arm, declaring in unison the Oneness of God (and that we are all part of that Oneness), I experienced the Presence of the Holy One. In the words and in the community, achen yeish Adonai bamakom hazeh – God is surely in this place and I did not know it!
In recent years, during times of greatest need, I have turned to God. I first encountered such personal prayer at our final IJS retreat here at Trinity Retreat Center, when we experimented with Nachmanian hitbodedut (personal prayer). I remember walking around on the grass, outside the meditation building, for forty five minutes, arguing vociferously – angrily – with God. Thankfully, God seemed to listen. Since then, our conversations, whenever I opened them, have been calmer and very efficacious. When I had tsuris (problems) with one of the kids that ripped at my heart, when an employment issue required I quickly find skills that diverged radically from who I was, when I had to make decisions for the synagogue mediating between my deeply held beliefs and the demands (the realities) of the moment, I sought support from the Holy One. Sometimes we speak when I am driving in the car; sometimes I interrupt my davening at shul, placing the open siddur against my chest, so I can silently speak my words directly to God.
My prayer is a simple variation on: “Please help me find the strength and the skills that I need to face that which we are facing. I do not ask for a particular outcome – though You know the desires of my heart – but I ask merely for the wherewithal to be able to figure out what to do and to help those I love navigate the current difficulties.” In recent years, each time I have turned to God, God has turned to me.
While in the short term things do not always turn out as I might have preferred, nonetheless the long term results have been pleasing. In each case, I have discovered the strength and courage that I needed to face the future.
One Shabbat each session, Michelle and I invite all of our Or Ami campers and staff to a "study session" (a.k.a. junk food party). It is one of our highlights of the summer to hear the campers kvell about their camp experience.
They eat some junk food. They talk loudly. They eat more junk food. They talk more loudly. 
They each participant shares their most exciting moments at camp. They eat even more junk food.
It is amazing to watch these campers, 
some nervous on the first days, warm up to camp. They love it.
It is also incredible to notice how many Or Ami faculty and intern alumni are now part of the Camp's senior staff. Rabbinic Intern Sara Mason Barkin (former Mishpacha Coordinator) and 
Rabbinic Intern Jordana Chernow-Reader (former Mishpacha Faculty member) are co-Directors of Education. 
Their husbands also work at camp: Josh Barkin, former Education Intern, is on faculty while Luke Reader, Mishpacha faculty member, is a Rosh (unit head). Jake Singer-Belin, former Mishpacha faculty member, is Rosh Tefillah (in charge of ritual life at camp). Fisch (Jonathan Rothstein-Fisch) is CIT Director. A week before we arrived, Rachel (Isaacson) Margolis, former Mishpacha Coordinator, served on faculty.
Camp Newman is one of the most creative Jewish learning and living places in America today. As so many Or Ami interns and faculty come from Camp Newman, that bodes very well for the continued creative life of our Congregation Or Ami community.
There is something special about hanging at camp with "my kids," the children of Or Ami congregants. Sure, Michelle and I have three our own (biological) children. Yet, each summer that number jumps as we chaperon a delegation of campers from Congregation Or Ami to the URJ Camp Newman in Santa Rosa, CA.
Most of the 18 campers this year come during the first sessions, 
because their parents find comfort knowing that their child will be watched over by their Rabbi (me) and by my wife ("Camp Mom") Michelle November. We love checking in with the campers at meals, celebrating Shabbat with them, playing frisbee or doing art together.
Often, as we are walking down the path, dodging hordes of campers, we find ourselves suddenly wrapped in a hug given by one of the congregant kids. Then just as suddenly, smile shared, we part and go on our separate ways.
A moment of holiness.
We met yesterday with some people from a Foundation who were interested in partnering to further deepen the Jewish educational experience at camp. 
They asked us a series of questions including: What do you do as Rabbinical faculty at camp? We asked: Expected responsibilities or unofficial ones? They asked: Both!
What does a Rabbinical faculty member at the URJ Camp Newman do?
We also have a lot of fun, hanging with our friends, sharing ideas about synagogue programming and leadership, drafting future High Holy Day sermons, reading, talking walks in the beautiful forests, go wine tasting, watch our kids make friends and grow up, climb the 50 foot tower...
On Friday night, the Beit Tefillah, Camp Newman's main amphitheater outdoor sanctuary, is an ever moving sea of white shirts, kippot, and smiles. Hundreds of campers and staff join together for a guitar and saxophone-led singing tribute to holiness and the Holy One.
At one high point in the service at the URJ Camp Newman, the Reform Jewish Movement's summer camp in Santa Rosa, counselors rise from their benches, stretch their arms out over their campers' heads, and bless them with Birkat Kohanim, the "priestly benediction". It is both touching and incredibly symbolic. Touching, because you can see how much these college-age counselors love their campers. Symbolic, because it captures the essence of what being a Jewish summer camp counselor is all about.
Some background: On Shabbat eve in Jewish homes around the world, parents place their hands on the heads of their children and bless them with Birkat Kohanim. Originally recited by Moses' brother Aaron (on God's instruction) and the other Kohanim (biblical priests) over the entire Israelite people, Birkat Kohanim became a mystical moment of duchenun, when those claiming to be descendants of the Kohanim would rise up, cover themselves with their tallitot (prayer shawls), and bless the congregation. Today, rabbis and cantors bless babies and bar/bat mitzvah students and wedding couples with the same words of Torah.
Still, when 19 and 20 year old camp counselors bless their campers, you know that this is a moment of transcendent symbolism. With this ritual act, these counselors offer more than words of blessing. They are demonstrating their acceptance of the sacred responsibility of caring for other people's children.
Sending Your Kid to Summer Camp: Excitement and Worry
Plenty of parents send their kids to camp each summer without thinking twice. 
But parents approaching that possibility for the first time worry about who will ensure the safety and sanity of their young ones while they are away from home.
During staff week at the URJ Camp Newman, Camp Directors Ruben Arquilevich and Phil Hankin explain the sacred responsibility each counselor and staff member assumes when he or she accepts the responsibility to watch over and care for a parent's child. The seriousness with which these young counselors approach this obligation astounds me. These counselors are but 18, 19 or 20 years old (supervised by a graduate school-aged Rosh, or unit head) , years away from contemplating the daily responsibility of raising a child of their own. And yet, they set aside their own need to play and be kids to make the camper's well-being their number one priority.
But - from what I have witnessed here - being a Camp Newman counselor is more than assuming a quasi in loco parentis role. Sure, health and safety takes priority. You should see the seriousness with which they spread out to offer coverage during pool time or patrol the cabin area during shmira (late night coverage). What amazes me is the caring and compassion with which they attend to the campers' emotional and spiritual needs as well.
Which circles us back to Shabbat eve's Birkat Kohanim blessing. College kids blessing teenagers and elementary school kids. The spiritual life of the children second only to their physical safety. Holiness embodied as each finds the holiness within and shares it with others. Very cool. Very spiritual. Shabbat shalom.
Before we arrived at the URJ Camp Newman for summer camp, my sons told me that I WAS playing in the camp's Ultimate Frisbee game this summer. No excuses. No made-up last minute meetings to attend. Their dad was to join the staff team in their annual Ultimate Frisbee combat against the CITs (Counselors in Training).
Little known fact: their dad played on the Trinity College (Hartford, CT) Ultimate Frisbee Team for at least half a semester, though I have no recollection of competing in a tournament. More likely, my college roommates, slightly embarrassed that I would be lettering only in Varsity Religion, cajoled me into joining the team with them.
However, Dad's now 44, the average age of the camp players is 18, and this camp game, a highlight of each week, is intense. Taking place after camp nikayon (cleanup) but before personal nik ("shower for Shabbat"), the game is athletically challenging and exhausting. In days gone by, this game saw its share of sprained ankles and broken bones. So I readily admit that I was a tad ambivalent, or more truthfully, a bit concerned about playing. Would I be able to keep up with all those college kids, including one female Rosh (unit head) Samara who plays varsity Ultimate over at UCLA and can throw down field with precision that amazes? In the back of my mind I had fears of spending the rest of the summer with crutches. (Apparently my wife did too; she made sure the Camp Doctor was around when I took the field.)
Well, I had my 5 minutes of fame on the Ultimate Frisbee field, ratcheting myself up in the eyes of the boys. I did okay too! Still, more significant than any single play I made (or missed), was the fact that I stretched myself to do something new and scary. 'Cause that's what we do at camp. And that's what makes Jewish summer camp so special.
Every summer, a few thousand Jewish kids come to the URJ Camp Newman for a summer of fun, friends, vibrant Judaism and personal growth. The most common refrain from older campers and staff about why they love camp (coming after "making new friends" and "spiritual Shabbat") is that they grew so much during each summer.
Imagine going away to a place where love is boundless, where every adult is tasked with making sure you feel valued and loved. Imagine being with a group of people who truly believe - as it says in Genesis - that you were created b'tzelem Elohim, in the image of God, and therefore are special, unique, worthy and valued.
That's summer camp. No pressure from school assignments, parental smothering and worry. No social pressure. Just acceptance and love.
Kids learn quickly to try new things. This kid, afraid of heights, nonetheless tries to climb the 50 foot tower. She makes it only halfway up, and upon descending, smiles widely and proclaims victory, "Last year I only made it up 1/4 of the way." That teen, born with two left feet, tries Israeli dancing chug (activity) and finds himself performing before 300 people at the end of the session. Another one sits at a potter's wheel and creates a beautiful pot, her first ever "successful" artistic creation. Camp removes the judgment from the process, allowing kids to do what we hope they would: spread their wings and try to fly.
So I flew. In fact, that's me flying in the air, wearing the dark green shirt, in the picture at the top of the page. I made one diving slap at the frisbee, knocking it (we think) out of the way. The other team scored eventually against my line anyway. Didn't matter. Because Rabbi Paul, facing the fears, played in the Staff-CIT Ultimate Frisbee game. I did it! And though I ended up pretty winded, I showed my boys - and myself - that Camp's the Ultimate Experience of taking that chance and soaring to new heights.
Camp Newman 2008/5768... We're back!
Our two boys graduated from their respective Jewish schools - Daniel from what we call "Kadeshel" (officially Kadima-Heschel West Middle School) and Noah from Heschel West Jewish Day School. The ceremonies were meaningful and fun. But for the two boys, and their sister Rachel, these experiences merely served as the last events separating them from their true love - getting back to Camp.
The URJ (Union for Reform Judaism's) Camp Newman sits among the most beautiful Northern California mountains and greenery, just between Napa and Sonoma wine country. For mom and dad, it is a fresh air breather, after a frenetic two months of school, finals, synagogue year end activities and more. For our three kids, Camp is that special place that invites them to be joyous, Jewish and free.
Moments after Noah's graduation concluded (he eschewed the various parties to get up to camp), we shoehorned suitcases for six (us five and our niece) and five passengers (Rachel would fly up later) into the Honda Odyssey van for the trek north. Between movie viewing and radio station surfing, the talk kept turning back to camp: favorite activities, camp trivia, who's my counselor gonna be... For Michelle and I, alumni of various Jewish summer camps, this was music to our ears. We know our children have had poignant Jewish experiences at their Jewish day schools (including the New Jewish Community High School) and at Congregation Or Ami. And that the children enjoy their experiences there. But camp offers much of the same, minus the homework, tests and (for some reason), without the social pressure that they even find at school.
When we turned into the Camp property, the screaming began! Shrieks of joy, cries of "check that out" and "look over there." No sooner did the van stop at our faculty cabin, than the boys bounced out and raced off with their friends, to do a quick, late night survey of the expected and the new at Camp. One happy bunch of campers, we are...
Three whirlwind days at the America Israel Public Affairs Committee Policy Conference 2009. Amazing. Heard from both presumptive nominees (Obama and McCain), candidate Senator Hilary Clinton, the Speaker of the House Pelosi, Leader of the Republican in Congress, Secretary of State Condaleeza Rice, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Israeli Minister Natan Sharansky dozens of Senators and Congresspeople, and more. It was a clean, crisp event, well-managed, well-produced. We fretted about the threats from Iran and its underlings (Hamas, Hezbollah and others), talked about the Palestinian-Israeli challenges, and considered the strangehold oil has on our country.
Or Ami's delegation of 11, represented the same percentage of membership that the larger LA synagogues had. Led by Faculty member Patti Jo Wolfson, we comprised different political backgrounds and multiple perspectives on how to solve the problems of the Middle East. We came together in that we all are pro-Israel, pro-American and concerned about the future for both and the whole world.
Learn more about the Conference here (or read about my experiences listening to Senator Obama and Senator McCain elsewhere on this blog).
Thank you to participants: Patti Jo Wolfson, Shirley Wolfson, Cindy Walkov, Fariba Cooper, Bob
Rothstein, College Students Max Cohen and Chaniel Cooper, teenager Kenya Rothstein, Mishpacha and Temple Teen Night Faculty member Lauren Gottlieb, and myself. Former intern Rabbi Brett Krichiver was also in attendance.
Or Ami is committed to doubling our participation at next year's Policy Conference (May 3-5, 2009). If you are interested, Rabbi Kipnes.
The day after he surpassed the delegate threshold, Senator Barack Obama showed up at the AIPAC Policy Conference to honor and reflect upon the amazing relationship between America and Israel. That this was one of his FIRST stops once he clinched the nomination is a tribute to the intense work AIPAC does to create relationships with leaders on both sides of the political aisle.
The presumptive Democratic nominee came to AIPAC with a purpose: to share his vision of the American-Israeli relationship and to address questions that we have of all candidates - Democratic or Republican - about how they will deepen and secure Israel's present and future.
Obama's words were clear; his meaning could not have been misunderstood. He explained, emoted, clarified his connection to Israel, his belief in the importance to America (and to Israel) of this unshakable alliance, and his conviction that this relationship must be deepened and maintained. He said what needed to be said to convince open-minded Jews that he is a very pro-Israel candidate and will take care of Israel and the American-Israeli relationship as well as our best presidents in the past. That he is an amazing speaker, so moving, was well-known. Experiencing it firsthand was so inspiring. You may view his speech here.
Politics
Sadly, politics seemed to blind democrats and republicans alike. I watched Democrats watch Senator McCain, and they were dismissive of some of his words. I watched Republicans watch Senator Obama, and they were dismissive of some of his words. The reality is, with regards to Israel, Iran, Iraq and the Middle East, they will be equally strong, resolute, thoughtful and committed. So vote for whichever candidate or party suits your other political concerns, since each will be "good on and good for" Israel.
