What's in Your Jewish Pie?

No matter how you slice it, there’s a piece of Judaism that’s yours.

Hey y’all! Book club is BACK! I know I said the next book would be The Amen Effect, but our Jewish queen, Sarah Hurwitz, has a brand new book out that I want to read and talk about with all of you!

Join us on Sunday, October 26th at 10:30am ET for virtual book club to discuss As a Jew: Reclaiming Our Story from Those Who Blame, Shame, and Try to Erase Us.

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“For this commandment that I command you today is not beyond your understanding, nor is it far away. It is not in heaven, nor in the seas beyond your reach for the Word is very near to you. Carry it out with your mouth and with your heart.” (Deuteronomy 30:11–14)

In this week’s parsha, Moses reminds the Israelites, who are about to end the Land of Israel without him, how accessible the covenant and mitzvot are. They don’t require supernatural effort, distant journeys, or someone else to interpret the divine will for them.

During this time of year, we reflect on the person we’ve been and the person we strive to be. Personally, I like to reflect on how I’ve been living out my Jewish values, like learning, praying, giving tzedakah, etc. These values often overlap with the person I strive to be, but intentionally naming them helps me set aside time to focus on self-development through a Jewish lens.

While the work of reflection, repair, and return may feel daunting, the Torah tells us it’s already within our reach.

With this in mind, I’ve created a sort of framework to reflect on this idea and see where I could apply myself more Jewishly in the year ahead. Something like this may already exist in the Jewish world, but I swear I thought of this in the shower, so don’t @ me.

I based it on the Life Pie exercise in Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way, where you divide a circle into six categories: Spirituality, Exercise, Work, Play, Friends, and Romance (though, if it were up to me, my pie would look like a haphazardly sliced New Haven pizza: an acute triangle of Hebrew studies here, a cheesy trapezium dedicated to self-confidence there).

After your slices are labeled, you place a dot in each slice at the degree to which you are fulfilled in that area (the closer to the outer rim, the better). When you connect the dots, you get a snapshot of how “whole” you are, or what area in your life needs attention. I do this once a quarter and then it makes me hungry for pizza or pie.

Source: creativeoverthinker.com

So, what does a Jewish check-in look like? What slices make up our Jewish pie?

I’m not claiming the following slices are the only slices of a Jewish pie, nor do these slices belong on YOUR pie. Just like I prefer a margarita pizza and my friend prefers white sauce drizzled with hot honey, each person’s pie is going to look different.

For example, you could have a three-slice pie (a Mercedes-Benz, if you will) featuring “the big three” pillars of Jewish life according to rabbinic literature:

1. Tefillah (prayer)

2. Tzedakah (charity/justice)

3. Gemilut chasadim (acts of lovingkindness)

Or, you could have it divided by what I call the Jewish triad, the three dimensions that sustain Jewish identity as a people:

1. Jewish Peoplehood (Am Yisrael)

2. The Land (Eretz Yisrael)

3. Religion (Torah/Avodah/Mitzvot)

Or, you could be more specific and divide your slices into Jewish values, like I did. For example, what is it about religion that calls to you: Mitzvot? Prayer? Connecting to G-d?

I cut my pie into six slices based on the values I want to prioritize. Here’s what that looks like:

Clearly I have some work to do in the tzedakah and chesed department 🙃

The good news is there’s so many Jewish values out there! Other options for your pie include:

1. G-d

2. Israel

3. Tanakh

4. Talmud

5. Kashrut

6. Tikkun Olam

7. Holidays, or a specific holiday

8. Family purity, if that’s your jam

9. Hebrew

10. Yiddish!

The beautiful thing about Judaism is that the list can go on and on! No matter how you slice it, there’s a piece of Judaism that’s yours. May you reach the edges of your pie in meaningful and fulfilling ways.

My friends: have a beautiful, sweet, joyous, safe, and healthy new year. Let me know what’s on your pie or what you’d like to explore Jewishly in the year to come!

Shabbat Shalom and shanah tovah u’metukah,

P.S. Our friend Amit from last week’s Drop is speaking at a shul on the UES tomorrow morning. Message me for the details to hear his story in person!