The clergy of Congregation Or Ami (Calabasas) share their vision of the synagogue as a sanctuary of kindness, your second home.
Category: Torah
A Vow to Keep Learning
Sitting in my mentor's study, I soak up his wisdom. Rabbi Stan Davids seems to know so much about so many things and I wonder how that was possible.
Shabbat Video Message: When You Feel Outside the Community
Watch my Shabbat Video Message: When You Feel Outside the Community
An Encounter with Palestinians: What We Are Supposed to Hear
At a meeting with Palestinians near Bethlehem. We gathered to encounter the truth. That we are all one.
Torah Brings Comfort to a 91-Year-Old Widow
91-year-old Deanna came to visit me to find some comfort after her beloved husband Alvin died. Turns out, she spent more time teaching me Torat Chayim (the Torah of Life).
The Ordinary Miracle of the Extraordinary: Spiritual Wisdom
We must live in the world of the ordinary. But if we then open our eyes and look — really look — we can glimpse the extraordinary.
Start Up Synagogues: The Future Looks Hopeful
Synagogues, like our own Congregation Or Ami, are retooling, experimenting, failing at times, and picking themselves up to innovate anew. The results are exhilarating! Jewish Start Up Synagogues – often the older shuls that are renewing themselves – are exciting and exceedingly hopeful.
Halloween Torah: The Bible’s Scariest Horror Story
Halloween Torah: The Akedah is a bloodcurdling tale of a menacing father who almost murders his kid, a nightmare waiting to keep you up all night.
Journey Forth to Inclusion and You Shall Be a Blessing – Parashat Lech Lecha
Lech L'cha - our journeys, especially those that lead us beyond the familiar or out of our comfort zones, can lead to inspiring metamorphosis. When Abraham and Sarah ventured into the unknown, they became a long lasting great nation. We pray that by embracing inclusion our synagogues, camps, youth movements, day schools, JCC’s and other Jewish organizations will similarly heed the Divine call.
Everything I Need to Know, I Learned from Noah’s Ark
Two by Two: A Pair of 10 Lessons from Noah's Ark.
Torah Tidbits: Parashat Bereshit (Genesis 1:1- 6:8)
Genesis, Parashat Bereshit, overflows with abiding lessons about Creation, humanity's purpose, Torah's truth, life's unclarity, radical amazement. Here are this year's favorite Torah Tidbits.