Josh Friedman sings along with Dan Nichols Sitting Camp Newman’s Beit Tefilah (camp’s outdoor sanctuary), as singer/songwriter Dan Nichols concertizes with 600 young people, I realized yet again the power of a simple idea: that a song has a better chance of transmitting and preserving significant values than most speeches or sermons do. Dan Nichols, Congregation …
Congregation Or Ami, our Reform synagogue in Calabasas, CA, receives high marks from our congregants and guests alike for the warmth of our community, the creativity of our learning, the depth of our Jewish spirituality, and the intensity of our musicality. As one of the rabbis at Or Ami, I am often asked what is …
Dispatch from Camp Newman, Santa Rosa, CA Early dinner is over (we have two seatings), and I can rest easy having checked in with every one of our younger campers. From a distance, I watched their interactions with other campers and their counselors; I made sure they are eating (everyone seemed to like the spaghetti …
Here are 3 Things to Do if you – or someone you know – is going on a trip: Texting: We have a tradition in our family that when one of us is on an airplane, the last thing we do before taking off is texting the other members of the immediate family, saying. “Taking …
The Traveler’s Prayer – Tefilat HaDerech – is recited at the beginning of a journey, according to the Talmud. In the prayer, the traveler asks for a safe trip. Here is a translitered version of the Traveler’s Prayer (from The Transliterated Siddur): Ye-hi ra-tson mi-l’fa-ne-cha, A-do-nai e-lo-hei-nu vei-lo-hei a-vo-tei-nu, she-to-li-chei-nu l’sha-lom, v’ta-tsi-dei-nu l’sha-lom, v’tad-ri-chei-nu l’sha-lom, …
At its root, Or Ami is a musical community. Between the inspiring music of our Grammy award-winning Cantor Doug Cotler, the uplifting and engaging sound of our Or Ami chorale, and the envelopingly enticing tunes of our Shabbat band Jewbacca, we sing our way through joyous celebrations, moments of sadness and everything in between. This …
We are living in historic times, especially as we look for an expansion of pluralistic Judaism in Israel and the continued rights of Jewish women in Israel. The Times of Israel reports, In a historic move for pluralistic Judaism in Israel, Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein has adopted a recommendation that would allow non-Orthodox rabbis to …
This week we are burying four people: a young husband/father/brother, four days later his 80 year old father, a woman with significant challenges, and a woman who struggled with dementia. These brief identifiers do little to describe the vibrant lives and loves that animated the people who died. Each life was full; each loss is …
They greeted us at the steps to the social hall, smiling warmly and asking us each to put on a name tag. Handshakes around, introductions made, we were conveyed up the steps. Each family was ushered forward by a host. The kids disappeared quickly. Girls went down to the climbing bars and swings; boys were swept …
Jews and Baseball: This from Fox Sports: The Israeli national baseball team is several months away from the most significant tournament in its history: the November qualifier in Jupiter, Fla., at which a bid to the 2013 World Baseball Classic will be at stake. And Israel stands an excellent chance of emerging from a four-team …
About 2 years ago, Congregation Or Ami opened its arms to Chaverim, a program for developmentally disabled adults age 18 to 88. In the months since we easily agreed to become Chaverim’s Valley synagogue, we have enjoyed a harmonious relationship. Rabbi Deborah Goldmann, the Chaverim program rabbi, wrote this note, reflecting upon our sacred relationship: …
To be a Jew is to be intrinsically aware of what happens in the world, and to remain focused even as the bright shiny objects (eg. the news story of the hour) float past. To be a Jew is to remain focused on significant life and life-threatening issues, even when they fail to attract the …
Nuclear Iran Threatens America
Graduating Or Ami Interns Sarah Lauing and Lisa Berney The nachas (joyful pride) was flowing from the Or Ami contingent gathered at Graduation of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. We were kvelling as we reflected on the way a professor introduced me to one of the machers (important people), saying, “This is the rabbi …
My mom, my dad and our kids A card to my wife. A call to my mother. Plans for an early dinner with my wife’s family. And then… As I drive to a downtown temple to watch our former intern Ilana Mills be ordained rabbi, my thoughts turn again to the congregation. I remember… Mother’s …