Are you prepared for Chanukah? Take the "Am I Prepared for Chanukah?" Quiz.
Lies My Brother Told Me
I happen to know a Jew, who is not a fan of the organized religion part of Judaism. He likes the values, most of them. He appreciates the commitment to family, usually. But the whole religious part – you know, the organized prayer, the specific stories of Torah, various beliefs about God – just turn …
7 Reasons Why Thanksgiving is Deeply Spiritual
There is something very spiritual about Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays because of GRATITUDE. Gratitude is especially spiritual. When we slow down and take the time to articulate the blessings in our lives, we necessarily venture into a higher plane of existence. We transcend our yetzer harah (our inclination toward lustful neediness) …
What Am I Supposed to Do at Prayer Services?
“I show up at services to pray,” he said. “But what am I supposed to do there?” There we sat at the coffee shop. He drinking his latte; me a spiced apple cider. While I tried to formulate an answer to his question, he hit me up with a barrage of questions intended to crack …
On the Airplane: Alone within a Crowd
Miles above the earth, sitting snuggly in my seat, surrounded by 200 other travelers on JetBlue’s LAX-JFK shuttle, I felt alone. Not one to make conversation with strangers on a plane (who, once discovering I am a rabbi, begin to tell me about every Bar Mitzvah they ever attended), the usually outgoing me becomes very …
Mitzvah Day TV – on Patch
After the Elections: A Statement on Civility
Now that the election is (finally) over, and the continual and embarrassingly numerous negative attack ads have ceased to populate every form of media, it is time to reflect upon the incivility that permeates our country and our conversations. I was pleased to be able to sign on to this Statement on Civility being promoted …
A Letter to our Teens and College Students: About Safe Places and Safe People… Like Your Rabbi and Cantor
@font-face { font-family: “Arial”; }@font-face { font-family: “Courier New”; }@font-face { font-family: “Wingdings”; }@font-face { font-family: “Calibri”; }@font-face { font-family: “Cambria”; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: “Times New Roman”; }a:link, span.MsoHyperlink { color: blue; text-decoration: underline; }a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed { color: purple; text-decoration: underline; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }ol { …
Loyalty Oath in Israel: Reform Movement Condemns It
Israeli leaders are engaged in a discussion about a loyalty oath. Tzipi Livni, leader of the opposition and Kadima chairwoman condemned loyalty oath amendment is ‘politics at its worst‘). Anat Hoffman, Director of the Israeli Religious Action Center (IRAC), wrote this on the recently Loyalty Oath Bill that was approved by Israel’s Cabinet: Yesterday, IRAC …
Everything I Needed to Know, I Learned from Noah’s Ark
This week’s parasha, Noach, offers a flood of wisdom. Don’t miss the boat. Remember that we are all in the same boat. Plan ahead. It wasn’t raining when Noah built the Ark. Stay fit. When you’re 600 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big. Don’t listen to critics; just get on …
The Holy One Created Tyler; Why Couldn’t His Roommates See His Holiness?
This weekend, though consumed with the celebration of life – a wedding, two B’nai Mitzvah, the bris of a baby – my heart was breaking as I tried to comprehend the deadly harassment that led to the death of Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi. His roommate taped a private sexual encounter, publicized it on twitter …
What a Slow Weekend Looks Like for a Rabbi
Two B’nai Mitzvah One Post-High Holy Days Rabbinic Celebration Dinner One Double Bat Mitzvah intake meeting One Wedding One Chorale Thank You Brunch One Bris It was kind of a slow weekend!
An Inspired Staff Inspires Others
Last Friday, the synagogue office was closed so that our entire staff could gather together for a day-long retreat. We focused on the intersection of two phrases in our Or Ami Vision and Values: We travel together down Jewish paths which inspire our hearts and souls and [these paths] transform us to seek justice and …
I Am Israel: A Video
Why the Good Die Young
A Conversation with God about 4 Funerals, Illness and an Earthquake in Haiti What a pair of months February and March were last year; so much tragedy. A 13-year-old was killed crossing the street. A vibrant teenager – a student at our local New Community Jewish High School – was lost in a car accident. …