It is that time again and I don’t like it! Time to say goodbye to our interns from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) as they conclude their year-long internship with us. Each will move on to new internship experiences as they prepare for eventual careers as rabbis and educators. So by May’s end, …
Thanks to Laurie Tragen-Boykoff for this Monday morning gem. Put a smile on my face. Hopefully yours too!
Our May anniversary came early as Michelle and I danced the night away with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (and a few thousand of our co-celebrants). We bumped into many Or Ami friends including Marcy and Clark Cameron, Greg Wiviott and his son, Bruce Drooks, and others, as we celebrated Glory Days. Admittedly, …
While Or Ami was at Malibu Creek State Park for Seder in the Wilderness, past president took his son Brandon Kaplan (who signs, but speaks only sporadically) to the Grand Canyon. Michael wrote me: I often wonder what goes through Brandon’s mind at various times. When we approached the rim of the Grand Canyon, Brandon …
For me, Congregation Or Ami is most compelling when we are singing together. Music uplifts, inspires, teaches, transmits values, is joyous, is fun, can be transformational. Our Cantor Doug Cotler encourages and invites others to sing with, play with, and create the music that celebrates holiness and the Holy One. Our Vision and Values place …
Having been nurtured on a diet of equal rights and feminism, I find the challenges of orthodoxy and fundamentalism (not always the same, but often related) to be most difficult when focused on the role and rights of women. So even while I applaud this piece of news, I still remain frustrated that our Jewish …
There’s a whole community of Jewish bloggers out there, who regularly comment on… well,… everything. Founded by Soccer Dad, Haveil Havalim is a carnival of Jewish blogs — a weekly collection of Jewish & Israeli blog highlights, tidbits and points of interest collected from blogs all around the world. It’s hosted by different bloggers each …
A year ago, when Newsweek’s Top 50 Rabbis list came out, I commented upon how statistically inaccurate and methodologically unsound it was. Having taken two sessions of statistics during a grad school course more than 15 years ago, I am better suited to critique. Moreover, I have already done the research. So here’s my response …
We had a fantastic Seder this year. Engaging, inspiring, relevant. After collecting all the resources, reviewing the Haggadah and planning the Seder activity/discussion inserts, I am always amazed at what actually does and doesn’t happen at the Seder. Since the Seder is an organic gathering – part keva/fixed traditional text; part kavannah/inspiration – the plans …
Four daughters worth mentioning at Pesach Professor Rachel Elior,who teaches Jewish philosophy and mysticism at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, offers in Haaretz a new ritual for Passover: mentioning four daughters. Instead of the traditional – wise, rebellious, simple, and one who does not know how to ask – Professor Elior suggests we talk about …
Traffic to the blog has been way up this week, due mostly to the plethora of Passover resources up on the blog. I would be interested in hearing from readers about which Passover posts were most interesting and which, if any, of the resources you used (or plan to use) in your seder. Toss me …
Haim Watzman, in South Jerusalem blog, connects the dots from the past to the present, using the lessons of Passover past to goad us toward justice in the present:Rav and Shmuel at the Gym: How Should We Begin the Passover Seder? Between sets of arm curls, Nahum walks over to me and says, “You’re familiar …
These are difficult times. As our financial markets continue to nosedive, we are forced to find new resources of strength to pull ourselves up out of the abyss. In a world of individuals, we might expect to do this alone. Circle the wagons and protect your own. Survival of the fittest. But Judaism teaches a …
