Rabbi Zalman Meintz

Prayer Playground

A few years ago I was the youth director of a big Masorti (Conservative) synagogue in London. My task was firstly to run youth services on Shabbat for a handful of teenagers and maybe encourage a few more to come along. I tried a traditional service but success was limited - most of the young people I was working with just weren't that interested and could probably have got the same thing from sitting upstairs in the adult service, minus perhaps some of the extra participation in running things themselves. I changed things around after a couple months, when I realized something more creative, playful and embodied was where my own passion lay. And this was key - I could only inspire others if I was myself inspired. The approach we took then was much more experiential. We took the services to the synagogue's gym, giving us more space, crash pads, and a different kind of atmosphere. We used chant and choreographed the prayers to movement. And most significantly, I led the
 sessions not as 'myself' but in character, through a comic rebbe figure, 'Rabbi Zalman Meintz'.

Clowning Around in Class
I found the persona of Meintz gave me much more leverage to interact
creatively with the teens. Asking them to do things, exerting authority, didn't
really feel like telling them to do things or exerting authority, because they
came from a place of humor and play. I found the teens listened more,
disarmed in their habitual reactions.

For me, using play and spectacle in a Jewish context is largely about this
disruption of habitual responses and answers, and the added engagement
that comes with games, character, story and show.

Moving with the Universe
It also puts us back in touch with the body. Recently I've become more and
more passionate about 5Rhythms, a dance and movement practice started
by Gabrielle Roth in the 1970s. Time and time again I have experienced the
lowering of my everyday boundaries, and an increased sense of connection
to myself, those around me, and the universe – all as a result of discovering
my body in motion through the dance. At its best I've danced 5Rhythms
as a kind of prayer. At times I’ve sensed a significant collective experience
fall on an entire room. A change seems to descend on the collective and
the atmosphere becomes tangibly different, thicker, softer, more felt, more
expansive.

This is one communal experience I’m interested in exploring further in the
context of my Judaism. Jewish practice is embodied in many ways, but
sometimes learning can tend towards the sedentary and cerebral. Through
dance, play, movement and performance, I believe we can find new ways of
connecting with our shared traditions.

Joel Stanley is a Jewish educator, theatre practitioner and community organiser, working in a variety of Jewish communities in the UK and internationally. He is the Director of International Programming for Moishe House, a facilitator for Streetwise GB, a Mobile Maven for Storahtelling, and the Artistic Director of Merkavah Theatre Company.