SKYPE for kabalat shabat X-Original-To: Hasafran@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Version 7.1.0.9 X-Spam-Score: 1.30 (*) [Tag at 5.00] MISSING_SUBJECT,SPF(neutral,0) X-CanIt-Geo: ip=71.74.56.125; country=US; region=OH; city=Reynoldsburg; latitude=39.9549; longitude=-82.7693; metrocode=535; areacode=614; http://maps.google.com/maps?q=39.9549,-82.7693&z=6 X-CanItPRO-Stream: lists (inherits from default) X-Scanned-By: CanIt (www . roaringpenguin . com) on 128.146.216.129 X-Listprocessor-Version: 8.1 -- ListProcessor(tm) by CREN
Some people use organs for music in schul or drive their cars to schul. We here in the Sinagoga La Javura use Skype to bring music and the world into our delightfully cozy, 45 square foot sinagoga. No matter how you slice it, books are the key; Skype is just another tool that in time will be replaced by something bigger and more electronically glitzy. But books don't run on electricity nor do they break down unless you use them for a marshmallow roast. I just came back from Paideia... www.paideia-eu.org ...which is the European Jewish Yeshiva in Stockholm (Sweden). You all must consider giving Paideia a try, especially their 10-day Incubator Program which helps you develop programs, write proposals and contact the foundation with the bucks that might be able to put some reality into the project. While I was in Sweden, I tried to talk about this kind of out-reach, but most people just don't get it. So! Given that a Blog and a couple of photos will probably speak louder than a thousand b'zillion words, here is an example of how La Javura and SKYPE work to bring people and kabalat shabat closer to each other. Alex, his mom Tanya Smolianitski were also in Sweden at Paideia. They joined La Javura for kabalat shabat on Friday, August 21. http://zusya.blogs.com/zusya/2009/08/schabbat-im-21-jahrhundert.html The week before, rabi Daniel Katz, an american who has lived and worked in Germany for a dozen years, joined us here in La Javurá and the experience was just as delightful as when the Smolianitski's participated with La Javura this last week. Alex and Tanya read the different sections of the service in hebrew, russian or german and had their turn at reading the parasha ha-shuva from their chumash in whatever language they felt the most comfortable in. If you look very closely at the picture on Alex's Apple computer you will see three girls, members of La Javura: Sol, Mónica and Elene. The other 5 that were present are out of videocam range as is also the one person calling from Barcelona on the speaker-telephone (obviously!). You can see a part of the La Javura library with the bulletin board next to it with all sorts of trash, announcements, book borrower cards, and sundry junk hanging on it. Towards the end of the service, which lasts about 3hours, Miriam Sugiyama, born in Brasil, who is married to a Valencian guy (and together run a shop that sells Japanese products) brought us the sushi that did not sell during the day. They only sell sushi that Miriam makes herself, fresh daily. They give all the rest away at the end of the work day. Not only that but Miriam came by La Javura on her way home to drop off the sushi and wave to everyone, including the Smolianitski family.We especially enjoyed the photo tour that Alex gave us of the new kindergarten, their shul, and the neighbourhood where they live while we sat there eating sushi. In the lovely Smolianitski studyroom you can see Mr Smolianitski sitting behind the computer screen. You can see Tanya's hand on the book (in this larger-sized photo)... http://www.flickr.com/photos/smolianitski/3847607149/sizes/l/ ...and Alex is obviously taking the picture. On Sunday, 23 august, Alex sent me the above link to his blog that high-lights the SKYPE experience. Though I hope all the Spanish didn't put them off too much, I recognize that the greatest barrier to success and full enjoyment with Skype is not the geographical distance barrier at all.... ....but the language barrier. If all the translating became a bit cumbersome, I do hope that Alex and Tanya might consider using Skype to do kabalat shabat with Russian/German speaking persons as well as come back soon to be with La Javura. Except for the fact that I still neeeeeeeed a media mixer, more electronically sohpisticated everything and fewer random wires in my life, aire conditioning would also come in handy. We were all using Spanish handheld-fans trying to keep the 39ºC heat circulating. In Sweden there may be Green-Winter and Grey-Winter but here in Valencia we only have Hot and Much Hotter. Compared to putting up with the heat, Skype is the easy part. I hope everyone's summer is rounding out nicely Besos de Valencia Remember the tour's on me Alba Toscano (Sulam 23) Sinagoga conservador "La Javuva" (56 individuals, count 'em) http://www.uscj.org/world/valencia SKYPE: albatoscanovalencia calle Uruguay 59, pta 13 46007 Valencia (Spain) 34 96 380 2129 34 96 380 6970 --- Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) =========================================================== Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: hasaf...@osu.edu SUBscribing, SIGNOFF commands send to: Listproc @ lists.acs.ohio-state.edu Questions, problems, complaints, compliments;-) send to: galron.1 @ osu.edu Ha-Safran Archives: Current: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html History: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/history.html AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org
