Last Wednesday, the East Coast was hit by a heavy snow storm. In the DC area, beginning around 3:30pm the snow began falling at a rate of 1.5-2" an hour. The storm brought with it heavy, wet snow, lightning and thunder - earning it the label Thundersnow. And of course ... our power was knocked out (and as of the writing of this blog 4 days later still remains out). We live in one of the wealthiest counties in America. However, you wouldn't know it from my status updates. Every time a little storm or wind comes through, our power is always knocked out for at least one or more days (thank you PEPCO!).
So what a joy it was to board an airplane on Friday (just barely due to another small storm) bound for Southern California! Goodbye snow, cold, and no electricity ... Hello sunshine!
If you missed reading new posts during those few days, the reason is because we had no electricity and were traveling. Yesterday (Shabbat), I spoke at my home congregation, Beth Emunah, and Monique and I led a packed-out Beit Midrash discussion on the parashah.
As I write this quick update I am sitting in our hotel room overlooking beautiful green hills and preparing for the Hashivenu theological forum which begins this afternoon. I will give an update on some of my thoughts over the next couple days.
I am very excited about the topic this year - Community. This is a very practical and relevant theme and discussion that I hope will help us in continuing to build a healthy and more mature Messianic Jewish movement. Monique is also presenting a response paper to one of the main papers which should prove to be very exciting and informative.
For those unfamiliar with the Hashivenu Forum, it is an annual gathering of Messianic scholars from around the world (and often scholars from the wider Jewish and Christian communities). Another exciting aspect of the forum is that it brings together a wide variety of thinkers representing the breadth of the Messianic Jewish community as well as the wider Jewish-believing community. For more information about what the forum is all about you can check out the Hashivenu website.
By the way ... Last week I asked for some feedback on particular topics or thoughts you would like to see addressed on our blog in 2011. I would still love to hear from you!
Thanks and Shavua Tov!
Joshua,
You mentioned parenthetically that your convention is frequently addressed by participating non-Messianic "scholars from the wider Jewish community".
Would you please elaborate on that with examples of such speakers and their topics, as well as how they explained their own participation in an event to which they're so ideologically opposed? Thank you.
Anonymous,
Regarding your comment asking how participants from the wider Jewish community "explained their own participation in an event to which they're so ideologically opposed?"
Well, I guess if they were so "ideologically opposed" they would not have come, would they?
The issue is not whether we agree 100% on the same things. Otherwise dialog would never happen between one group and another.
However, there are a number of great leaders and thinkers confident enough in their own ideas and identity who are not threatened by differing perspectives and willing to dialog.
Thank you Rabbi Joshua Brumbach for not discussing any specific idividual speakers by name. There by avoiding harassment by ideological opposition not yet moved into 21st century drasch.