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12 Refreshing Moments from a Palm Springs Rabbi Conference

Four days spent with 212 reform rabbis at our annual regional rabbinic conference PARR in Palm Springs. Refreshing! Why? 1. Sharing joys of being a rabbi. 2. Supporting each other through the challenged. 3. Considering what a value-based progressive Jewish hermeneutic for Torah might look like. 4. Discover a new Shabbat service ritual for celebrating …

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Disability Awareness Month

18 years ago, when I became rabbi at Congregation Or Ami, I was very thoughtful about what should be  the first policies I asked the board to pass.  The policy should reflect deeply held dreams of what a congregation should care about; it should illuminate important Jewish values. I was thrilled when the board voted …

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Israelis Tackle … American Football

Hut 1, hut 2, hike, hike… In Israel, there are two main sports: soccer and basketball.  Over the past years, groups of American olim (immigrants) have made attempts – some more successful than others – to bring baseball to the Holy Land.  Recently, Israelis are flirting with football – American tackle football.  And, under the …

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7 things to stop doing now on Facebook

Every Facebook user should consider the following, especially if you are a parent with kids who have their own Facebook account. Thanks to Rabbi David Cohen for the Facebook link to the original Consumer Reports article. Using a weak passwordAvoid simple names or words you can find in a dictionary, even with numbers tacked on …

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Social Sermon: Pluralistic Preaching or Lazy Clergy

The Covenant Foundation about a move by @DarimOnline to promote the Social Sermon, an attempt to make sermon writing and constructing into an interact, whole congregation approach. Imagine marrying Facebook and twitter with the Shabbat sermon. I like it. We have been experimenting for the last few months with a communal blog on Jewish Spirituality. …

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15 Things I Did on Vacation

We spent a week away in Scottsdale, AZ with my folks and our family. 15 things we did on vacation: Celebrated my birthday with my family and my parents. Had breakfast of homemade cookies with Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie Ice Cream Drove to Sedona, Arizona and marveled at the gorgeous red earth and …

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