Chayei Sarah – 5780 Genesis 23:1 – 25:18 From the title of our parasha, Chayei Sarah, we would assume that the portion is about the life of Sarah, because Chayei Sarah literally means ‘the life of Sarah.’ How surprising then, is the opening verse: “And the life of Sarah was a hundred and twenty-seven years, […]
VaYeira – 5780 Genesis 18:1 – 22:24 It’s a miracle! Or rather it will be. In this week’s parasha, VaYeira, three angels approach Abraham with a promise from God: despite the fact that both Abraham and Sarah are advanced in age and she has been barren her entire life, next year she shall give birth […]
Monthly Clergy Message From Cantor Eschler Building a Hanukkah Sukkah Last year I wrote to you the idea below; however, I feel like it reached our households too late to try starting a new tradition. This year as you read this in November, I’m hoping we might create this together with enough time to put […]
Lech Lecha – 5780 Genesis 12:1-17:24 “The LORD said to Avram, “Go forth from your land, from your birthplace, and your father’s house to a land that I will show you.” […]
Noach – 5780 “Noah was a righteous man; he was blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God.’ -Genesis 6:9 Most of us are familiar with the Torah Portion, Noah (Noach in Hebrew). From a young age we learn how Noah brought each of the animals into the ark two by two. When teaching the […]
Host Family Schedule Here’s what people need to know: MAJYK stands for Mid-Atlantic Junior Youth Kallah. It’s a NFTY program for 6-8th Graders and takes place at Temple Beth Ami Dec. 6-8, 2019. We ask that each family host a minimum of 3 teens all of the same gender. Friday, December 6 9:30-9:45 pm […]
Bereshit – 5780 Genesis 1:1 – 6:8 “In the beginning, God created heaven and earth – the earth being unformed and void …” [Gen. 1:1-2] The creation story begins with two things: God and an unformed, chaotic universe. Eerily, this ancient story partially aligns with modern science. According to the Second Law of Thermodynamics (“entropy […]
Yom Kippur 5780 Words That Hurt, Words That Heal I recently heard about an usher for the high holy days. He greeted an older elderly woman who was visiting. He gave her a prayer book and walked her into the sanctuary. He asked her very politely, “Where would you like to sit?” She answered: “The […]
