Rabbi’s Corner

Rabbi’s Message
Most of us have more time during the summer. What are we going to do with this precious time? (more…)

Shavuot

When we talk about the Jewish holidays, we know about Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah, we think about Shabbat as a holiday, and we quickly mention Passover and Hanukkah. Actually, Passover is one of the three festivals, and the two other holidays of equal rank are Sukkot and Shavuot. Since Shavuot is coming up on June 1-3, I want to teach about it here. (more…)

Dear Congregants,

As we approach the sacred festival of Pesach this year, I am filled with profound joy and anticipation. This holiday, which commemorates the Israelites’ Exodus from Egypt, is a time of liberation, reflection, and renewal. It is a time when we gather with loved ones to retell the story of our ancestors’ journey from slavery to freedom, and to celebrate the enduring spirit of our people. (more…)

Judaism gave Western civilization many things, but one of the most important is that it laid down the foundation of Law. The Ten Commandments and many other elements of Hebrew law provided a major source for the development of Western legal systems and democracy.

Three thousand years ago, the ancient Hebrews developed the idea of monotheism, the belief in one G-d. They believed that G-d gave them laws to regulate their society, their religious practices, and their relationships with other people. (more…)

A man called me and said that he was going to have an operation. He said that it was preventative; the doctors told him that he was ok for now, but that at any moment, he could be on the floor in an emergency and then it might be too late to do anything. I understood what he was saying. The operation was a big deal, and he would have a lot of pain and need a long time to recover fully. (more…)

Rabbi’s Message

The stories in the Book of Genesis about the Patriarchs and Matriarchs and their children often present their actions in a questionable or even objectionable light. We see that they are not always exemplars of great spiritual or moral stature (more…)

In the last year, we’ve spent a lot of time and energy on building relationships in the community. At times, it was the most difficult thing we ever did. It’s hard to be disliked for who you are. It’s hard to be dismissed for your beliefs.

But we kept going, and we stayed in those rooms, and now some of the people who were most dismissive sit at the table ready to talk about the meaning of community in a new way. (more…)

On the High Holidays, I talked about what your Jewishness 2.0 for you might look like. I presented a very specific challenge, that I’d like to repeat and emphasize here. (more…)

Once, a pilgrim set out on a long journey in search of peace, joy and love. The pilgrim
walked for many weary miles and time passed. Gradually, his young, lively steps
became slower and more labored. The pilgrim’s journey passed through landscapes
that were not always happy ones. (more…)

(Note: At a recent service honoring our dear friend Toby Gillman’s special birthday, I thought it would be appropriate to explain a phrase that is meaningful in our lives)

Have you ever heard this expression, “He’s the spittin’ image of his dad”? What in the world could this mean? That he spits at the image of his father? Most of us have great and loyal kids who would never hurt or insult their parents.

So what does it mean? “Spittin image” is a blurring together of a much better phrase, “Spirit and image”.. Many of us have looked in the mirror and seen the image of one of our parents and we hope we carry on their spirits. This makes much more sense. Language can work this way.

So I’d like to give you another example, and you are very lucky, because no one in history has ever heard what I’m going to explain to you. (more…)