I’m here in Washington DC leading a delegation of 8 from Congregation Or Ami to the AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) Policy Conference. Congregation Or Ami is well represented. Some of the larger congregations boast having 100 members present. Yet when you look at percentage of membership attending (they have 3200 plus members; Or …
Or Ami Congregant Laurie Tragen-Boykoff and President Susan Gould led a contingent of over 179 Or Ami members and friends during Jewish World Watch‘s Walk for Darfur. The 1000 person strong march sought to raise awareness, support and funds to end the ongoing genocide in Darfur, Sudan that has killed 400,000 Darfuris and forced more …
At our congregational meeting last night, Or Ami’s President Susan Gould review Congregation Or Ami’s achievements this past year. We all schepped nachas (shared the joy). Henaynu Caring Community Committee Our new software (Hineynu Tracker) helps us keep track of our congregants in need. Henaynu is expanding support especially for families with special needs children, …
Vote for whomever you want. I have my preferences, but those are mine. You may have yours. But make sure when you make your decision, you have the facts straight. In Obama and the Jews (May 18, 2008), journalist Thomas Friedman writes that The notion that a President Barack Obama would have a desire or …
I schepped nachas (beamed with pride) as another Or Ami intern became a rabbi. Eric Berk, a rabbinic intern this year who previously served as rabbinic intern for us during his second year in school, ascended the bimah to be ordained “Rabbi in Israel.” Rabbi Berk, a thoughtful, compassionate, Israel-loving Jew, wrote a thesis illuminating …
At the Rhea Hirsch School of Jewish Education (of HUC-JIR, LA) pre-Graduation Dinner, I had the honor of sharing, before their families and classmates, the many gifts our interns shared with us. Dan Medwin, Lydia Bloom Medwin and Sara Mason touched so many lives. My words are below: Dan, Lydia and Sara, being rabbinic-education students, …
WASHINGTON, May 15, 2008 – In response to today’s ruling by the California Supreme Judicial Court declaring the state’s ban on gay marriage unconstitutional, Mark J. Pelavin, Associate Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, and Rabbi Alan Henkin, Regional Director of the Union for Reform Judaism’s Pacific Southwest Council, issued the following …
We celebrate the news that California Ends Gay Couples’ Exclusion From Marriage. Earlier today, the California Supreme Court handed down a historic decision upholding the freedom to marry in In Re: Marriage Cases. California’s high court is the second state high court to rule in favor of ending the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage. …
We, Jews and Jewish families, living relatively comfortable lives, find ourselves increasingly facing uncomfortable truths: that abuse of drugs and alcohol runs rampant through our community. Jews are not immune from the battle with the bottle or the pull of the pills. Though we talk about it less than some communities, alcohol and drug abuse …
It made the Top Ten: Kibud Av v’Eim – Honor Your Father and Mother (coming in at #5, between the commandments about our relationship with God and spirituality, and those about how we treat other people). It made it into the Holiness Code: You shall revere your mother and father (appearing right after God tells …
Our Center for Jewish Parenting is always on the lookout for stories, resources and information to help parents. In conjunction with our Madraygot/Jewish 12 Steps Addiction Education and Prevention Project, we aim to educate, support and prevent addiction. We get a boost in this week’s Jewish newspaper. The Jewish Journal wrote a beautiful series of …
Hedi Gross and Rabbi Kipnes write: Congregation Or Ami teamed up with other synagogues and churches to again run Prom Prep 101. The Calabasas synagogue, as part of its ongoing commitment to help children in the foster care system, has latched onto the Prom Prep 101 as an opportunity to give back. Young foster girls …
How do we communicate to our children the challenges of dealing with their own sexuality and the dangers – physical, emotional, spiritual – of becoming sexually active before they are older? Abstinence only programs, advocated by some, provide incomplete information. I recently signed onto a Clergy Statement on Public Health and Ethical Concerns with Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage …
We had two great seder experiences this year. One with the whole Kipnes East Coast family; one with just my folks, my sister and her family, my wife, kids and family. One highlight was the use of Youtube videos for educational and sometimes just entertainment value purposes. One video kept everyone quiet and paying attention …
I’ll be at the AIPAC National Convention in June 2008, because what other organization can gather together so many leaders of the American government – from both sides of the aisle – and from the Administration – for the primary purpose of talking about and supporting Israel. And until and unless someone else can fill …