Dear friends, I am so excited for this Shabbat, on which we will gather to hear the song of our redemption, Shirat Hayam, the Song of the Sea, read from the Torah, and on which our Cantor and choir will lead us in beautiful song. Our voices will rise as one, not unlike they did Continue Reading »
Dear friends, As we brace ourselves for Saturday night’s/Sunday’s Winter storm, I wanted to begin with a brief announcement: Our programming for Friday and Saturday will move forward as scheduled! Snow should begin to fall later Saturday night into Sunday, and you should look out for an announcement about Religious School tomorrow evening. This week’s Continue Reading »
Dear Temple Beth-El, When I was on my family trip to Nashville, TN to visit my mother over New Year’s Day, we drove past the former site of the Nashville JCC. There I saw a sign that taught the history of the firebombing of that JCC in 1958 by the White Supremacist organization, the “Confederate Continue Reading »
Dear Temple Beth-El, This Shabbat we move into the Book of Exodus, and there is so much action in this first Torah portion it’s hard to know where to begin. I am drawn this year, as I have been many times before, toward the brave midwives who took it upon themselves to save Hebrew babies Continue Reading »
When I think of the Zionist Congress, what comes to mind is the image of Theodor Herzl in a black and white photo surrounded by other men in tall black hats and long black coats. Gathered in Basel, Switzerland, they founded the Zionist Movement and began the process that would lead to the founding of Continue Reading »
Dear Temple Beth-El, This week’s Torah portion is Vayigash, the denouement of the Joseph story in which Judah pleads to Joseph on his brother Benjamin’s behalf, Joseph reveals his identity to his brothers, and they reconcile. It is a striking end to a powerful tale, one that begins with arrogance and enslavement and ends with Continue Reading »
Dear Temple Beth-El, I am so excited to celebrate my first Chanukah Shabbat with all of you, and to take part in the Consecration ceremony for our newest learners in our religious school! Tonight is going to be so full of joy and light and love. The lights of Chanukah have been dimmed by violence Continue Reading »
Dear Temple Beth-El, The sad truth is that, despite the fact that no Jew anywhere deserves anything other than joy and light this week, our jubilation as we enter Chanukah this year has yet again been dulled and diminished by violence. A community Chanukah celebration on Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, where hundreds of Jews Continue Reading »
It is this week’s Torah portion, Vayishlach, that tells us the story of our forefather Jacob’s dream in which he wrestled a blessing from an angel of the Divine. When he awoke from his dream, he was renamed– no longer Ya’akov, Jacob, but now Yisrael, Israel, the God Wrestler. This process of ending the tenure Continue Reading »
This week’s parashah, Vayeitzei, comes from the book of Genesis which means “And he left.” This portion details Jacob’s journey from Beersheba to Haran, including his vision of the ladder to heaven, his time working in servitude for his uncle Laban, and his marriages to Leah and Rachel. When I had the privilege to drash Continue Reading »