Rabbi Eric Yoffie, President of the Union for Reform Judaism, gave his Shabbat morning sermon at the URJ’s 70th Biennial Convention in Toronto. Read the full text. Just after he delivered it in Toronto, I read the text of his sermon in West Hills, CA (isn’t technology wonderful?). Thoughtful, eloquent as always, Rabbi Yoffie launched …
A reminder to everyone who wants to create and sustain a welcoming religious institution:
Dr. Bruce Powell, founder of New Jewish Community High School in West Hills, spoke at Or Ami last week about How to Explain to our Teens Why Bother Being Ethical in an Unethical World. It was Fabulous. He was Inspiring. Straightforward. Contemplating still Dr. Powell’s teachings, I came across a sermon by Rabbi Stephen Pierce …
I’m sitting here in Or Ami’s sanctuary as about 100 teenagers – 7th to 11th grades – and a handful of parents sit in silence, listening to Rita Lurie tell the story of surviving the Holocaust. In commemoration of Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass which began the Holocaust, we committed our young people to …
Kvell or Kvetch? Celebrate or Complain? That’s the choice we each can make. Thus Torah teaches: I place before you Blessing and Curse… At Or Ami, we choose to count our blessings and kvell (celebrating or sharing our joy). Here are three things we kvell about this week: Kvell #1: Mitzvah Day. On Sunday, November …
Let’s celebrate Hiddush, new Jewish advocacy organization, aimed at “promoting religious freedom and diversity” in Israel. Its a public education organization comprised as a partnership between Israeli Jews and world Jewry. And it has a purpose, direction and leadership that makes it destined to move Israel in the direction of religious freedom. Hiddush, which in …
My mom passed this one onto me: YOU KNOW YOU ARE LIVING IN 2009 when.. 1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave. 2. You haven’t played solitaire with real cards in years. 3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of 3. 4. You e-mail the person who …
I grew up with dogs as pets: Dukie (a great dane who knocked me over so I hit my head on the sandbox), Cookie (small cute), Candy (about whom, it is reported that when my parents wanted to adopt her out, I offered to keep her in my room and care for her myself), and …
Even with my concerns about anti-semitism in Europe, the nuclear issue in Iran and other hotspots around the world, I took a moment to sign onto a letter to President Obama, co-signed by 100 rabbis, urging a sane, responsible policy toward the Sudan (and the continuing problems in the Darfur region). The letter, organized by …
If Or Ami is so involved in blogging, eNewsletters, twitter, and Facebook, why am I sitting with our president Susan Gould and Board Member Kim Gubner (and 75 other rabbis and Jewish community leaders) in a Board of Rabbis and STAR sponsored seminar on Communicating and building relationships in an age of New Media? We …
Sermon by Rabbi Paul Kipnes, Congregation Or Ami, Calabasas, CAYom Kippur 5770/2009 [For full endnotes, textual references and lyrics of songs sung/quoted, see Rabbi’s writings on our Or Ami website.] A story: In the year 120 CE, in the land of Israel, a horrible plague swept through the holy land. So many took ill. Thousands …
A Ritual for Yom Kippur Morning and Family ServicesAdapted by Rabbi Paul Kipnes (Congregation Or Ami, Calabasas)from Blessings Written by Rabbis Janet Marder and Denise Eger [Background: At Congregation Or Ami, we honor and value all members of our community, including and especially those non-Jewish spouses and partners who have chosen to raise their children …
M’lo Chol Ha’aretz K’vodo: The Whole Earth is Filled with God’s GloryA Sermon by Rabbi Paul Kipnes, Congregation Or Ami, Calabasas, CARosh Hashana 5770/2009 [for citations of rabbinic and modern sources, see the sermon on the Or Ami website] Lead in: Sheryl Braunstein and Or Ami Chorale sing “B’tzelem Elohim” Sheryl’s beautiful song reminds me …
