This month, the Board of Directors will establish the Nominating Committee, which will be tasked with the responsibility of identifying candidates for various vacant offices, positions on the Board of Directors, and Trustee roles. Just like Groundhog Day determines if spring is just around the corner or 6 weeks away, the Nominating Committee determines what’s next for Temple Beth Sholom. (more…)
Click for February 2025 issue of Israel Matters!
Click for January 2024 Bulletin. Will open with Adobe Reader or equal.
Doing Good When Times Are Bad
In 1973 I was a student in Jerusalem during the Yom Kippur War. Following several days in and out of bomb shelters, our student group was split into volunteer teams that fanned out across Jerusalem. I was dispatched to a poor neighborhood to go door-to-door and deliver new garbage bags to the residents. This was one small thing that I could do to help. (more…)
TURNING CURSES TO BLESSINGS: ON THE POWER OF WORDS
In the Hebrew Bible, words are events. G-d creates the world through a series of speech-acts, starring with “Let there be light.” As events, once words are spoken, they cannot be taken back; they have happened. Words have independent power. There are many blessings and curses, invoking the name of G-d, and they affect the real world and change history. Once spoken, they are part of reality. (more…)
#BeAMaccabee
A week before Hanukkah started, the USCJ, along with the Conservative/Masorti Movement partners, launched a hashtag campaign for Hanukkah to encourage Jews to post symbols of Jewish pride on social media. The campaign was a continuation of the solidarity efforts the Movement has been promoting since October 7, 2023. (more…)
When I was an undergraduate at Columbia University in the late 1980s, I took a class on Arab nationalism at the School of International and Public Affairs. One day, I found myself vigorously sparring about Israel with some Muslim students in the course when a Palestinian student name Zuheir said, “I’ve been imprisoned and beaten in many Arab countries,” cutting the conversation short. After class Zuheir and I compared notes. (more…)
Click for December 2023 Bulletin . Will open with Adobe Reader or equal.
By the time you read this message, I hope it is out-of-date.
· I hope that the hostages who have been kidnapped by the murderous savages of Hamas have been rescued and are home with their families.
· I hope that Hamas has been destroyed. (more…)
Even though I’ve never set foot in Israel, I firmly believe that one can establish a profound connection to a place through various means beyond physical travel. (more…)