Interview

Krissy and I interviewd Rabbi Kenter at the Greenburgh Hebrew Center.

1. HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN A RABBI?
- 27 years

2. CAN A RABBI GET MARRIED?
- yes

3. HOW DID YOU KNOW YOU WANTED TO BECOME RABBI?
- 9 because he thought it was cool, he changed his mind at 18 but after college he changed it back.

4. WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO DOTHE BECOME A RABBI?
- go to college and 6 years of rebinacal school.

5.
- IN THE JEWISH RELIGION ARE THERE POSITIONS ABOVE AND BELOW A RABBI? EXAMPLE IN THE CATHOLIC RELIGION YOU HAVE A DEACON, PRIEST, BISHOP, AND POPE.
-First there is the Rabbi, then a chief educator, a canter, and a religious school director.

6. WHAT IS THE MOST RELIGIOUS HOLIDAY AND WHY?
- Sabbath that is once a week because it is the day of rest.

7. HOW MANY RABBIS ARE AT THIS TEMPLE?
- One rabbi at the Greenburgh Hebrew Center, but it depends on the size of the temple.

8. DO YOU LIKE AT THE TEMPLE?
- No but within walking distance of it.

9. IN THE CATHOLIC RELIGION WE MAKE SACRAMENTS - EXAMPLE - BAPTISM, COMMUNION & CONFIRMATION, DO PEOPLE IN THE JEWISH RELIGION HAVE SOMETHING LIKE THS?
- Yes. We have a life cycle which includes birth, baby naming, bar mitzva, wedding, divorce, and death.

10. ARE THERE SINS IN YOUR RELIGION?
- Yes, the Hebrew word for any kind of sin is avera. There are three levels of sin. The first one is someone who does an avera intentionally. This is the most serious. Second, is when someone does an avera by accident. While the person is responsible for their action it is considered less serious. Third is a person who was raised in an environment that was assimilated or non-Jewish and is not aware of the proper Jewish laws - not accountable for their actions. There are also three different names for sins - Pesha a deliberate sin. Avon a sin of lust or uncontrollable emotion. It is done knowingly but not done to defy God. Cheit an unintentional sin. This word comes from the root word to miss the target.

11. IS IT MANDATORY TO GO TO TEMPLE?
- No, it is considered to be a positive religious deed to help others in prayer but you are not forced to attend. More people attend temple near the holidays.

12. FROM WHAT AFE DO KIDS GO TO HEBREW SCHOOL?
- kindergarten to 8th grade which is from the ages of 5 to 13.

13. WHY ARE THERE 8 DAYS OF CHANUKAH?
- It commemorates the miracle of the oil that burned for 8 days. After three years of fighting the Maccabees drove the Syrians out of Israel and they reclaimed the temple in Jerusalem. While they were cleaning the temple they lit a jug with only enough oil for one day but a miracle occurred and the jug stayed lit for eight days which gave them enough time to get new oil and finish cleaning and rebuilding the temple.

14. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART ABOUT BEING A RABBI?
- enjoys helping people

15. IS BECOMING A RABBI A POPULAR CHOICE FOR YOUNG JEWISH MEN OR IS THERE A SHORTAGE OF RABBIS?
- No, it is not a popular choice. Rabbi Kenter's son is attending rabbinical school now and there are 35 people in his class. This is a fairly large class,the normal size in the past has been around 18 people in a class. Also women can become Rabbis in every branch of Judaism except for the Orthodox.

16. What is passover?
- commerence of the exergist of Egypt.

17. WHAT DOES IT MEAN WHEN THEY SAY IT IS KOSHER FOOD?
- It means that the food is fit to eat, Pork and Shellfish are not Kosher food.

18. IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADD TO THIS INTERVIEW?
- Judaism is more than a religion it is closer to a civilization. It is a way of life with its own language, music, art, and food.

During this week Krissy and I went to Greenburgh Hewbrew Center to observe a relgious ritual of Conservitive Judiasm. We went Friday night, November 2nd at from 8pm-9pm. In the Hewbrew Center there were just regular seats to sit in with plain settings, no stained glass or anything like that. The rabbi comes out and stands behind the bima. A singer stands off to the side singing all the pray songs. The torah is brought out covered by a sheet in an ark case, when they brought out the torah they said a pray in hewbrew. Rabbi then opens the torah to the part where he is speaking from that week. Rabbi walked through the temple holding the torah like a baby walking through the inside isle first then made his way to the outside. When he passed the people on the ends they either took a cloth or their bible, touched the torah then kissed it. When he was finished he faced the ark recovered the torah, kissed it and said a pray. To conclude the service he moved onto the temple community news.
The sides of the ark is decorated with flowers. The rabbi wore a tallits which was black and a scarf like material with hebrew writing. There were 30 or so people in the temple, mostly older people and young kids. Even though everyone was very welcoming and friendly I still felt a little out of place just because I wasn't use to the culture or the ritual and the language they were speaking. Some of the questions I wanted answered was the reason why they went through all of this, why they kissed the torah and why the torah was covered while being brought out. Overall it was a good experience for us though.

Reform Judaism beliefs

http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_jref.htm

The jewish beliefs on homosexuality are very interesting. Some people think that same sex marriages are a sin, because techinally unsafe sex and unconsensual sex is. Some teach that homosexuality falls in the same catergory. On the other hand some people believe that it is an abnormal way of living and could also be classified as sinful. In reformed juadism they actually give the rabbis the choice to perform at a same sex marriage, it is all up to them.

Hinduism

http://www.religioustolerance.org/hinduism4.htm

Hinduism is a very interesting religion to read about. Two beliefs that considered to be negative is the Caste System and the put down of women in their culture. The different groups were seperated and some had more privelages than others. Some were only allowed to drink certain things with certain people, and eat certain things with certain people. This system was done with in the mid 1900s but in Hinduism they stilled lived by it.
The women in this religion were not treated fairly. Female feiticide, infanticide, and mob violence were some of the things that were down at this time in this culutre. They were not treated right but couldn't do anything about it and had no say in what went on

Heaven and Earth last forever...

"Heaven and Earth last forever.
The reason that Heaven and Earth are able to last forever
Is because they do not give birth to themselves.
Therefore, they are always alive.
Hence, the sage puts herself last and is first.
She is outside herself and therefore her self lasts.

Is it not through her selflessness
That she is able to perfect herself?"

As I was reading this poem i learned about what can happen if we were alone in the world. For some people being alone and doing things for themselves is a hard way to leave. But after reading this poem i learned that it can't be all that bad. Perfection is caused by non production and just doing things for yourself.

"big questions"

The 4 relgions of Buddhism, Hiduism, Jainism, and Sikhism have many different views on some of the "big questions" asked. Buddism does not rely on gods but at some point may believe in them. They do not revolve their whole relgion on the praise of gods or others. Hinduisms believe in one god, almighty but have other gods and other figures. Jainisms have nothing, no god or higher figure, and finally Sikhism strongly believe there is only one god.
Jainism and Buddhism believe in rebirth and live after death. You are born, die, and then live again until you can live up to the standards that their community thinks is acceptable. Also they believe you should focus on the right now, not the future or the past just what is happening at that very moment in time

As well as Krissy, my only community has been my teammates on the softball team. Ever since we came to school we have had practice, games, conditioning and many other things. Everyday i associate with the same girls but thats okay. We are trying very hard to win a lot of games this year because last year they didn't do too well. The only trouble in our community is that no matter how much we love each other and get a long, your always going to have certain days where you just dont get along or don't want to see each other.