Next week, Jews around the world will gather together to celebrate the Festival of Passover. We will eat matzah and charoset, drink four cups of wine, and tell the story of our ancestors, who fled slavery and oppression in search of freedom and a new home. But it’s not just the Israelites’ story. We are reminded that, Continue Reading »
Our Celebration Under the Stars honoring Sarah Gluck on her retirement was a joyous weekend (April 29-30). So many people spoke beautifully of their respect and appreciation of Sarah. And Sarah closed out the celebration with these words of thanks: Thank you, Arnie. And everyone who has spoken, sung, played, and so, so much Continue Reading »
Terumah is found in the Book of Exodus and follows Parsha Mishaptim, where we learned about laws as well as the Special Shabbat Shekalim where a census was taken. Now that we had laws to abide by and a good idea of how many people there were, it was time to turn to fund raising Continue Reading »
New members Kara and Jamie Sobin, who live in Hillsborough, are thrilled to have found a spiritual home at Temple Beth-El, along with their children, Celia and Jonah. Kara grew up in Somerville, where she was very involved in her family’s Baptist church as a child and young adult. In recent years, Kara had found Continue Reading »
Comments from the Reflection Service during Yom Kippur My favorite Hebrew expression is kolhakavod. I heard it for the first time from a spectator, screaming from the sidewalk, as I was running the Jerusalem marathon. I was only at about mile five and this person was not just cheering ME. I was among thousands of Continue Reading »
Every year at our Yom Kippur Reflections Service, several members of our congregation speak about how Judaism, and the experience of being Jewish, has affected their lives, their perspectives and their character. Here, three of the speakers from this year’s service offer their thoughts on how being Jewish has impacted them. Rande Aaronson – When Continue Reading »
Today is Yom HaShoah, the day established by the Knesset in April 1951 to be the official day of Holocaust remembrance for Israel and the Jewish people. In 1953 the Knesset appropriately renamed this day yom hashoah v’hag’vura, the Day of Holocaust and Heroism. The date, the 27th of Nisan, was chosen for its proximity to the date of Continue Reading »
Sisterhood Woman of Valor 2019-20: Jodi Siegal Sisterhood held its annual Woman of Valor dinner on Dec. 19, 2019, honoring Jodi Siegal. Approximately 50 Sisterhood members attended the dinner to honor Jodi, whose commitment to community is evidenced by her many activities at TBE since becoming a member in 2000. Jodi is a TBE board Continue Reading »
Pain, medicine, and depression were consuming me. The doctors told me I was winning my battle with leukemia, but I felt I was losing emotionally. The depression that had overtaken me seemed worse than physical disease. As a rabbi I thought I had been trained to deal with depression. I was used to members of Continue Reading »
For years, Barbara and Russ Johnston have been a fixture at TBE. They’ve been the friendly faces at the Bagel Cafe, Sisterhood and the temple choir. But what you may not know about the Johnstons is their special love story – not just for each other, but for Temple Beth-El, the community that first brought Continue Reading »
