B’Chukkotai – 5779 Leviticus 26:3 – 27:34 Can a Torah commentary start with a Santa story? You decide. Rabbi Paul Plotkin shares the following: Jane and her older sister had been fighting a lot this year. Jane’s parents warned her that Santa Clause was watching, and Santa does not like it when children fight. Well, […]
Machane Session Times Primary (Grades Pre-K – 2) Sunday Sunday Early: 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM Optional Enrichment* Sunday Late: 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM *Optional enrichment classes run by outside vendors will be offered during the late session for students in grades PreK-2. Offerings have included Cooking, Movement, Mad Science, Art, etc. These programs […]
Behar – 5779 Leviticus 25:1 – 26:2 Behar is the name, and tzedakah is the game. Many of us have grown up equating tzedakah with giving charity, but the word literally means: “doing right.” We give charity when we are moved to help the less fortunate. We do tzedakah because it is how we are […]
2020 Beth Ami’s Trip to Israel THE ISRAEL TRIP July 1-12, 2020From $2,829 Land Only Click here for itinerary Highlights: A journey of inspiration, education and connection Feel the energy of Tel Aviv, the holiness of Jerusalem, the serenity of the North Experience Israel from ancient history to modern innovation Explore the diversity, triumphs and […]
Emor-5779 “These are My fixed times; the fixed times of Adonai, which you shall proclaim as sacred occasions.” Leviticus 23:2 When I was considering Rabbinical School, I was cautioned, “Being a Rabbi is not a job, but rather it’s a way of life.” There is no punch out clock and the hours aren’t 9-5. […]
> As a rabbi, I try to encourage us to explore every aspect of our identities, and I recognize that our ideas – even about ourselves – change over time. Each year, our confirmands ascend the bimah on the festival of Shavuot to formally confirm their place as part of Beth Ami and the Jewish […]
Kedoshim – 5779 Leviticus 19:1 – 20:27 The Talmudic rabbis play a game of wits where one says, ‘I can sum up the entire Torah in just seven verses.’ Then another does it in six, and so on all the way down to one. Hillel wins by restating the Golden Rule: “What is hateful to […]
B’nei Yisrael (From the May 2019 Temple Beth Ami Chadashot) Each year, our confirmands ascend the bimah on the festival of Shavuot to formally confirm their place as part of Beth Ami and the Jewish people. During the service, they will read statements about what it means to them to be Jewish. For many, hearing […]
