Bar Mitzvah for child #3 went computerized. Not the Torah or Siddur (prayerbook), but just about everything else. We created an online invitation using a Create Your Own Website template (maybe sometime in the future we will post it here for all to see). We made an online donation to an Israeli Nature organization equal …
New Year's resolutions: Chances are that our resolutions will again be thrown upon the pile of discarded and broken promises made in previous years. So caught up in the ritual of deciding what we could be doing, we fail to do it. How about trying this...
I am in love. Of course, with my wife, with whom I recently celebrated as our eldest turned 18, our baby became a Bar Mitzvah, and our middle one continues to be wonderful. Such simchas always bring forth the love. I am also in love with a book, a novel about love, archeology, life and …
As his New Jewish Community High School students go off for winter and summer breaks, master educator Dr. Bruce Powell – founder and head of school for “New Jew” – asks his students to ask themselves these five questions: -Is it safe?-Is it legal?-Does it make sense?-Does it comport with our Jewish values?-Can I proudly …
Acharon, acharon chaviv – the last, the last, is the sweetest. So teaches our Cantor Doug Cotler to every family as they prepare their youngest child to become bar/bat mitzvah. So true! As our third child ascended the bimah to chant Torah, I was more open to the sweetness of the simcha than ever before. …
8 Blogs for 8 Nights of ChanukahBlog #4: Making Chanukah Come Alive, Four Nights Later Question: Why do we need to use a candle – the Shamash (helper) candle – when we can just as easily use a match to light the Menorah? It has to do with the “Way of the Long Pole.” Some …
Divrei Derech, my friend Rick Winer’s blog, turned me onto one of the most fun Chanukah songs of the year… The Barenaked Ladies, a Juno-winning and Grammy-nominated Canadian alternative rock band, sings Hanukkah Blessings. This beats Senator Orrin Hatch’s Hanukkah song, especially since you don’t have to think about his challenging politics when you listen …
8 Blogs for 8 Nights of ChanukahBlog #4: Making Chanukah Come Alive, Four Nights Later Question: Everyone is kvetching that we should just light and give gifts. How Can We Make Our Ritual Uplifting and Meaningful? As you are gathering around the candles, before you light them, view one of these videos on a computer, …
8 Blogs for 8 Nights of ChanukahBlog #3: The True Story of Chanukah: Complex, Bloody, Challenging Question: Chanukah Is About More than Lights and Menorah. What Happened Historically Back in Israel During the Time of the Maccabees? David Brooks (NYTimes columnist) writes in his article titled The Hanukkah Story: Tonight Jewish kids will light the …
8 Blogs for 8 Nights of ChanukahBlog #2: Miracle Meditation for the Second Candle and the Second Day of Chanukah Question: With only enough oil to last for one day, how did the Jews react as nightfall approached at the end of that first day? The miracle of the second candle is one of surprise, …
Rabbi Judith Abrams PhD., of Maqom (a school for Adult Talmud Study) shares insights into Torah. Her insights open our eyes and hearts to a new take on familiar story. Her vision offers much to those who are content to rest on assumptions about family patterns. She reminds us that one of the strengths of …
8 Blogs for 8 Nights of ChanukahBlog #1: Oil and the Secret of the Jew Question: Why did Antiochus’ army ruin all the oil in the Jerusalem Temple? When Antiochus’ Assyrian-Greeks entered the Jerusalem Temple, they contaminated all the oils that were in the Temple. One would expect them to plunder the Temple’s gold and …
Why give of our time and energy to others? Jewish tradition teaches in Pirkay Avot (the Talmudic Teachings of our Ancestors) that the giving of tzedakah (charitable donations or the gift of our time) increases the shalom (peace) in our world. Experiences over the past weekend, hearing from Or Ami congregants who gave of their …
This past Friday to Sunday, the light of Or Ami was shining brightly. Just thinking about how so many people participated in so many programs, projects and simchas energizes me. Dealing with Difficult People: Friday 11:00 am-2:00 pmI often say that the reason Or Ami is so warm and welcoming is, first and foremost, because …