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 […]
For any successful organization, including synagogues, there is no such thing as standing still. Do you try to get 10,000 steps each day? When you set that as a goal and you make a conscious effort to reach that goal, it makes you do some things you wouldn’t have done otherwise; but, at the end […]
> 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 […]
Acharei Mot – 5779 Leviticus 16:1-34 It may still be Passover, but our weekly Torah portion is about to redirect our attention to Yom Kippur. Acharei Mot describes the sacrificial service for Yom Kippur as it was thousands of years ago, and although we no longer follow this rite, there is still much we can […]
Pesach 1 – 5779 Exodus 12:21 – 51; Numbers 20:16 – 25 “And Egypt bore down on the people [of Israel] to hurry to send them off from the land, for they said, ‘We are all dead men.’ And the people carried off their dough before it was leavened, their kneading bowls wrapped in their […]
