User:Arie Chark

The account of this former contributor was not re-activated after the server upgrade of March 2022.

Based in Ottawa, the capital city of Canada, I am a rabbinic chaplaincy educator and a spiritual director in private practice. I do not overly identify with any one type of Jewish denominational tradition. I am Chasidic in deportment and spiritual practice but do not qualify myself as Orthodox in spite of the very high standards of my personal observance. I am not particularly comfortable in Reform or Reconstructionist synagogues but have been known to attend both. I personally prefer davenen/i> (prayer worship) in Orthodox congregations and currently I regularly attend two Conservative congregations. My eclectic approach is best summed up by the witty remark of Rabbi Yitz Greenberg, founder of the Centre for Leadership And Learning (CLAL), who has long asserted "I don't care what Jewish movement you affiliate with... so long as you're ashamed of it." I am also known to appear at interfaith services and have spiritually assisted Jews who attend alternative communities such as Unitarian Universalist. I have marched in Pride parades.