Rabbi Debra Smith Eternal One, Creator and Sovereign of all Life: We know you are grieved and mourn with us the loss of so many many innocent lives, Victims of the war waged by Hamas last October 7. Into a day celebrating peace, Chaos, murder and savagery invaded Initiated by Hamas upon the innocent. Eternal Continue Reading »
by Nina Fondiller Woldin Do you remember last Rosh Hashanah? Maybe, like me, you were with friends and family, thinking about the year that had passed and making plans for the coming year. Do you remember where you were soon after, on October 7? It has been a life changing, attitude changing, and awareness-changing year. Continue Reading »
by Audrey Lichter Today is my father’s Yahrzeit. He has been gone for 50 years. He died when I was a teenager, from a stroke in his mid 50’s. There is no good time to lose a parent. However, losing a parent when one is in the final stages of growing up is hard for Continue Reading »
by Michalee Merritt The high holidays are late this year. I am very happy about that. While most people spring clean, I like to fall clean. This year all of our children are out of the house. Cleaning and throwing things away can be very therapeutic. Changing up a room with new bedding or moving Continue Reading »
By Rabbi Deb Smith This past week we welcomed the month of Elul, the month that precedes the special time of the High Holy Days in Tishrei. Elul is typically a time when we reflect on our past year and think about how we can repair fractured relationships with others and with ourselves and how Continue Reading »
By Audrey Lichter My life could have been different. I grew up in a strong culturally Jewish home where our whole Brooklyn NY apartment building was almost exclusively Jewish. However, my Jewish education was minimal; hating religious school and knowing little about Jewish history, holidays or traditions (except for Chanukah and Passover). If it wasn’t Continue Reading »
by Nina Fondiller Woldin I recently previewed the film Tragic Awakening by the well known Canadian-Israeli film writer and producer, Rabbi Raphael Shore. This powerful documentary explores the roots of antisemitism through the insights of Muslim Zionist Rawan Osman, and delves into the historical and cultural genesis of Jew-hatred, revealing its impact not only on Continue Reading »
The Jewish Day of Love, Tu B’Av, will be celebrated on the evening of August 18, and today, August 19, 2024! This holiday is also known as the 15th day of the month of Av. The greeting for Tu B’Av is “Chag ahava sameach,” which means “happy love holiday.” Tu B’Av was almost unnoticed in Continue Reading »
By Rabbi Deb Smith I have always thought of Tisha B’ Av as a remembering and a commemoration of individual events in Jewish and world history. For me the solemnity of this holy day has been so meaningful over the years. I have studied and taught about the historical events surrounding the destruction of the Continue Reading »
by Nina Fondiller Woldin I am reminded daily of the chaos in our world which seems to be growing more and more intense. Often I hear the situation described as the struggle between good and evil, which has led some to ask, “Why would God permit evil to exist?” Or, “How do we reconcile faith Continue Reading »
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