Dear Lab/Shul,

I am just coming back from three days of professional learning at the annual Project Directors’ Meeting of the Covenant Foundation. The Covenant Foundation works to strengthen educational endeavors that perpetuate the identity, continuity and heritage of the Jewish people by honoring outstanding Jewish educators and supporting creative approaches to programming. Special for Lab/Shul specifically, the Covenant Foundation is a core source of fiscal and organizational support for GENerate, our yearlong rite of passage program for adults exploring what it means to age wisely, generatively, and soulfully, together. Have you seen that we are starting a new cohort? The next cohort launches this summer, open to adults across the country, with limited spots available. Applications are now open — don’t miss the priority deadline, next Friday, May 31! More on that below.

On the first day of the Covenant Foundation gathering this week, Rabbi Sharon Brous of IKAR shared a teaching based in a relatively obscure passage from the Mishnah (the first major work of rabbinic literature, written and compiled in the first and second centuries of the Common Era). In the text (Mishnah Middot 2:2), the rabbis describe an ancient pilgrimage ritual in which massive crowds gathered at the holy Temple in Jerusalem. Upon entering the Temple complex, most people moved to the right, making a giant circle around the holy place. But another group of people — those to whom something terrible had happened since the last gathering, or those who had been isolated from the community due to wrongdoing — circled to the left. Whenever someone from the first circle encountered someone from the second, they would ask, “Mah lach?” which Rabbi Brous translates essentially as “What happened to you?” The person circling to the left would answer, and the person circling to the right would then offer a blessing: some way of seeing the other in their full humanity and wishing them protection, the embrace of the community, better days ahead.

This Sunday marks Lag Baomer, traditionally a time of raucous celebration in the midst of a period, the counting of the Omer, designated as a time of mourning. In her talk, and in her new book, The Amen Effect (linked below), Rabbi Brous makes this point:

“There is a timeless wisdom in entering the sacred circle: this is, on some fundamental level, what it means to be human. Today, you walk from left to right. Tomorrow, it will be me. I hold you now, knowing that eventually, you’ll hold me. Every gesture of recognition marries love and humility, vulnerability and sacred responsibility.”

There is a real synergy between this and what lies at the heart of GENerate. Over the course of one year, participants in our rite of passage program for adults 60ish and above exploring what it means to get older, or become an elder, dig deeply into big questions about life and legacy and wise aging. We read and study together, share what’s on our minds and hearts, and engage in contemplative practices and structured creative work as we design a culminating ritual. But most of all, we mark a year of time together, blessing each other wherever we may meet along the circle, knowing for each of us there will be times to celebrate and times to grieve. That is the inescapable circle, the magic. As one former participant put it: “[Over the course of our year], we became a CARING COMMUNITY, supporting each other through a family death, and illness. This group of strong individuals, spanning the ages of three decades, formed a true family.”

Sound like something you’re interested in? Sound like something your bubbe or friend or mentor would find meaningful? Learn more:

VISIT: GENerate webpage

REGISTER: 5/30 Information Session

APPLY for GENerate

Please keep our deadlines in mind:

  • Regular application deadline is Sunday, June 16, 2024
  • Priority deadline for applications is Friday, May 31, 2024

As we prepare for GENerate’s creative work and the storytelling of our lives, I would be remiss not to mention all that is upcoming for Lab/Shul in celebration of our storytellers. Because we know that the powerful stories passed down through generations can foster healing and togetherness, we invite you to join us:

  • On June 7th for our next and final Sabbath Queen of the season
  • On June 9th for Tribeca’s World Premiere of Sabbath Queen, the film that chronicles the last 21 years of our beloved Rabbi Amichai’s life
  • On June 18th as honor our storytellers at our fabulous annual Gala and After Party

Whether you find yourself circling more to the right or to the left at present, I am wishing for you the experience of being seen and known, and wishing all of us the courage to build spaces trustworthy enough to be the blessing for each other.

In celebration,
Ben Freeman
Associate Clergy