Some of our favorite altera-frummies, the PunkTorah crew, are coming to Chicago! PunkTorah (which you can check out for yourself at punktorah.org or on Facebook), founded by the unstoppable Patrick Aleph, is...well, they explain it better than I ever could:Because the term “punk”, like “rebel”, “renegade” or “revolutionary”, is at the heart of the Jewish experience. “Punk” as a mindset, not a musical style.Avraham Avinu, Abraham, our father, was the original punk. Abraham smashed idols like Jimi Hendirx smashed guitars. Abraham completely rebelled against the mainstream culture of his time, spreading a message that was hated and feared by many. He taught those willing to be taught, and stood firm against the tide of social blindness running rampant in his day. Like our ancestors, we are a tribe of people who don’t take “no” for an answer. We survive and flourish because of our individuality, but also our collective responsibility for each other. When you dig into your heart, and pull out a Jewish answer to the issues that confront you, that is “as PunkTorah as it gets”.A non-profit organization (501c3 pending), PunkTorah is committed to the idea that you can approach “doing Jewish” without undoing yourself. You don’t have to be someone that you are not. It’s not about taking stuff away from your life, or taking things away from you. It’s about adding to your life.
PunkTorah has registered a booth at the Greater Chicago Jewish Festival - where we will also be playing at 4:00pm - and we hope you'll stop by and say hi to them. In order to get there and make their mark, though, they're gonna need some gelt. An $18 donation through PayPal (to punktorah@gmail.com) will not only get them to Chicago, but will help them develop new outreach programs on progressive approaches to prayer and kashrut, organize a tikkun olam trip to Uganda, counteract the anti-Thumpers at Westboro Baptist Church, run interfaith Shabbat dinners, and so many other incredible things.
Got questions? Want to know more, or help out? Definitely check out PunkTorah.org, or connect with Patrick: punktorah@punktorah.org.
