Today I will co-lead a class at HUC-JIR in their Pastoral Counseling Course on addictions and how Rabbis and congregations can be helpful to Jewish addicts, alcoholics and co-dependents. For eighteen years, I have been blessed to work with Jews with addictions. I have learned so much from people in recovery about spirituality, perseverance, healing and …
Top 10 Reasons Why the Rabbi Should Work Carpool Duty
18 plus years in the rabbinate – seven of them since I formally ran any kind of religious school – and I find myself reassigned to carpool duty. Our congregation moved out of our synagogue space while we engage in a minor expansion and remodel. Our temporary location affords us cramped but adequate space …
3 Documents about Creating Jewish Community
For the Rhea Hirsch School of Jewish Education of HUC-JIR (LA and NY): Congregation Or Ami’s Vision and Values Creating Community through Technology Welcoming New Members and Guests Also: Jewish Spiritual Seekers Blog Illuminating News eNewsletter Spirituality Along the Journey, Rabbi Kipnes’ eLearning Twitter.com/CongOrAmi Twitter.com/RabbiKip
Who Says You Can Never Go Home? OR Back to Bay Laurel
Or Ami veteran member Bill Harris writes: When my wife Karen and I were new to California, we did the “shul shopping” thing and I had pretty much given up when she convinced me to go to one more. When we drove up to an elementary school in Calabasas, I turned to her and gave …
Seeking Justice, Mercy and Humility: A Jewish Response to Marriage Equality
The prophet Micah (ch. 6) asks a question which many of us, in the quiet of our own thoughts, do (or should) ask ourselves: Man (or our society) has told you what is good, but (by contrast) what does God require of you? Micah, speaking as a mouthpiece of the Holy One, answers thus: Only …
If Cee-Lo Green Were Jewish, He Would Sing…
Michelle and I were treated to seats at the Grammys this year, courtesy of some dear congregants in the business. We had fun dressing up, and hearing a wide range of music from Bob Dylan to Ladies Gaga and Antebellum. Barbra (Streisand) and Mick (Jagger) sang as did Justin (Bieber) and Jaden (Smith). We rocked …
Welcoming Chaverim, for Developmentally Disabled Adults
Torah teaches, “Do not place a stumbling block before the blind.” The RiPiK, a twentieth century commentator, suggested that beyond refraining from placing blocks, we should actively remove stumbling blocks. To what might this be compared? A story… Even as the Director of Chaverim, a local program for developmentally disabled adults asked the question, his …
The Tasty Fruits of Israeli Innovation
Did you know that: Amazon’s Kindle was made in Israel?! A World Autism Center is being build in Israel?! Israel’s have discovered how to float solar panels on water?! A bracelet made in Israel can tell caretakers when an epileptic seizure is happening?! The Mideast’s first synchrotron is being built in Israel with researchers from across the …
What's Up With Egypt?
Transfixed for weeks over events in Egypt (and other parts of the Mideast), I have begun to see the real power of Twitter. I added to my Hootsuite account the hashtag #Jan25. (A hashtag – # followed words – is a user defined marker added to a tweet that connects disparate tweets into an ongoing …
Prayer for Egypt, Its Leaders, Its Citizens, Its Supporters
Under the category of Things I Wish I Wrote, here is a Prayer for Egypt written by Alden Solovy. Alden is a talented liturgist, writes fabulous new prayers almost daily and posts them at www.tobendlight.com. Adlen is also an award winning essayist and journalist, having written for daily, weekly and monthly newspapers, as well as magazines, e-newsletters …
Superbowl Thought
What is it about sports that provides a common language for people – especially men – that helps them transcend their differences or their lack of familiarity? Put two men who do not know each other in a room and in no time they can bonding, swapping stories and calling armchair quarterback plays. No answers; …
Or Ami Wins URJ Techie Awards
They like us… they really like us! Okay, though it isn’t the Academy Awards, we celebrate that Congregation Or Ami won 3 (of 5 available) Union for Reform Judaism Techie Awards in the first year they were awarded. Out of 900 Reform Movement congregations in North America, Or Ami was chosen for having the: Best …
Praying MY Way: The Antidote to Power Davening
Dropping my son off at his New Community Jewish High School, I felt the sudden urge to attend morning services. Initially thinking it was Thursday, I looked forward to hearing Torah chanted. Upon entering Shomrei Torah Synagogue’s chapel, I was saddened to realize it was Friday, not a Torah reading day. But then, surprise, surprise, …
So Debbie Friedman Died… Perhaps God was Too Busy Arranging the Outcome of the BCS Football Championship Game
At the end of the Auburn-Oregon BCS college football championship game, many winning Auburn players – including the coach and the quarterback – thanked God for being with them so that they could win the game. In fact, following the win, the Auburn team huddled together in a prayer circle. At the moment, tens of …
18 Lessons from 18 Years as a Rabbi
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