Dear friends, This week’s Torah portion is Parashat Lech L’cha, where Abraham (his as-yet-uncovenanted name still Abram) enters the action and becomes our story’s acting protagonist. We are told almost nothing of Abraham’s childhood, instead entering into his story with one of God’s most intriguing utterances in the entire Torah: “Lech l’cha,” “Go for yourself Continue Reading »
Dear friends, One of the most widely riffed-upon commentaries in our tradition on the story of Noach has to do with the Hebrew word for the Ark that he built. That word is teivah (תֵּבָה), and in the plain context of the portion and in its use elsewhere in the Bible it clearly means some Continue Reading »
Dear friends, I have been anticipating this Shabbat for months! Later this afternoon, Elana Arian and her clarinetist Ivan Barenboim will arrive at TBE for what will be a full weekend of amazing activities. Tonight will be our first Shabbat K’hilah experience, beginning with our ‘pre-neg’ gathering at 6:30, followed by an amazing musical service Continue Reading »
Dear friends, Moadim l’simcha! The special greeting we get to use just twice a year on Chol HaMo-eid Sukkot and Pesach (the middle, non-festival days of our week long celebrations) is a favorite. It means: “These special days are for joy!” And the traditional response? “Chagim uzmanim l’sason,” which basically means: “Yeah, holidays and times Continue Reading »
Dear friends, I’m eagerly looking forward to seeing many of you tonight at our triple-celebration–our Back-to-Shul Barbeque, Shabbat, and Erev Sukkot! After what I felt was a really meaningful and successful journey yet again through Elul and the Yamim Nora’im (Days of Awe or High Holy Days), it is a joy to begin the school Continue Reading »
Dear friends, This Shabbat is our last before we welcome the New Year, with Rosh Hashanah beginning next Shabbat. Our parashah for this week is perfectly appropriate for this moment in our calendar, as we read Nitzavim, Moses’ final address to our People before we cross into Eretz Yisrael without him. Moses tells us that Continue Reading »
Dear friends, We are halfway through the month of Elul, and the High Holy Days are approaching fast. The staff and lay leadership here at TBE are deep in the work of preparing what we know will be a deeply meaningful holy-day season for our community. I want to acknowledge the realities we all face Continue Reading »
Dear friends, Today is Rosh Chodesh Elul, the first day of the last month of the year 5786. Elul is a month of introspection and self-evaluation, or, as we term it in our tradition, cheshbon hanefesh, an accounting of our souls. Jews at this time of year often actively seek forgiveness from those whom we Continue Reading »
Dear friends, As I write to you this week, I’m sure many of you, like me, are tracking the news with vigilance and maybe even alarm. There are winning political candidates across the country who espouse views or have expressed statements that steer dangerously close to open antisemitism, and still others who have trafficked in Continue Reading »
This week’s portion, Eikev, opens with Moses continuing his oration that commenced last week. The people are poised to enter the Promised Land. Moses revisits the blessings that will result if they adhere to God’s commandments, and the very bad things that will happen if they do not. Moses reminds the people how God cared Continue Reading »