Wednesday, August 22, 2012

JFX Ramble – Wanna Get Radical?

by Ethan Weiss

We recently returned from our annual vacation to the Chautauqua Institution where I attended 5 days of lectures on the topic of Radicalism.  I learned and heard from notable speakers about the concept of Radicalism through the lenses of terrorism, espionage, science, civil rights, and politics. 

The speakers, while approaching the subject via their different topics, had a common thread woven in their definitions of radical.  A thought or idea that could inspire action, activism, education or change – backed by reason, assessment, organization, and accountability – is usually able to be seen as radical.  A thought or idea that is simply extreme or outrageous is not.

Breaking down the semantics helped me arrive at my new understanding of the word radical.  And of course it also begged the question to me, is JFX “radical”? 

I am so proud of what we’ve done at JFX since our beginning.  We’ve grown from three families, a Rabbi, Rebbetzin, and an idea to a staffed organization offering “Jewish families of all backgrounds and affiliations avenues to discover Judaism in a relevant, meaningful, way” (paraphrased from our website).

We’re taking thoughts and ideas, assessing them, weighing them on a spiritual and / or accountability scale, and implementing them where plausible.  We’re impacting lives and inspiring change.  We learn to be mindful of our speech, to try to not hurt others with our actions, and we even have time for (lots of) fun. 

Do you want to get radical?  As our “summer recess” winds down, we’re getting ready to launch another year for JFX.  If you’re interested in possibly refining your definition of radical, seeing what radical is really about, or if you just still don’t know how I answer the “is JFX radical?” question, please come meet us this Sunday at our kick-off-the-year barbeque.  We’d love to continue the discussion.  Details are above, or call us anytime after dark (Havdalah) on Saturday night.  

Wishing you Shabbat Shalom and a radical 5773 in advance!
Ethan