hope is my middle name
“Hope is my middle name. Really. Growing up I hated it. I...Read more...
Chaos or Community?
January 6 will go down as one of the most shameful days in our nation’s history. Seeing the chambers of our Capitol invaded and sacked, desecrated in broad daylight, is something we will never forget.
I texted my 20-something year old daughters on Wednesday afternoon –
“Can you believe what’s happening in the Capitol?” I asked.
“Yes” replied the first.
“Sad that I can believe it,” wrote...Read more...
Report from the World Zionist Congress
Today, October 22nd, I voted. And then I voted again. No, I didn’t break any laws! Only one of those votes I cast was in the presidential election. The other vote was in the World Zionist Congress.
Many of you may remember that last year we urged you to cast a vote for ARZA, our American Reform Zionist Association in the World Zionist elections. These elections are held only once every five years. ...Read more...
High Holy Day Update: Congregational Conversation
Dear TBS Family,
Almost two thousand years ago, when the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, our ancestors lamented their grave loss. Their entire way of life had been torn asunder from the leadership of the priests (Cohenim) to the offering of sacrifices. Yet even as they mourned this calamity, they began to reinvent Judaism. Prayer would replace sacrifices, synagogues were established in place of the Temple, and rabbis became our...Read more...
when is it safe?
Like Noah, who launched a dove off the ark after 40 long days to determine when it would be safe to finally disembark, we at Temple Beth Sholom are searching for signs of readiness to reopen. Just as we were beginning to venture out of our homes after months of quarantine, civil unrest and violence have led to deeper pain, discomfort and curfews. We are struggling to gain footing in an uncertain and volatile world. It is at...Read more...
Our Sister Congregation, Rosh Pina
“The stone the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone (“Rosh Pina”).” Psalms 117:22
This verse from the Psalms, included in our festival Hallel prayers, contains the name of the community with whom we are connecting in our new Domim (“Alike”) partnership program through the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism: Rosh Pina (“Cornerstone”). The community of Rosh Pina in northern Israel by the Galilee was...Read more...
One Congregation Together
Announcing important changes to this year’s High Holy Day Schedule
We are a vast and varied congregation. We range in age from newborn to 103 years old. We come from far-flung places like Tasmania and the Ukraine, and from local neighborhoods like Aventura and Hibiscus Island. Our religious origins range from Orthodox Jewish to Mormon. We are Jews by birth and Jews by Choice and non-Jews who dwell within our...Read more...
Memory is a Powerful Sense
About a month ago, my mother gave me my grandmother’s 8th grade gold graduation ring, with her initials, AA, inscribed on the front. She wanted me to know its history. My grandmother, who I called “Nana,” was the oldest of five children and the only girl. When she finished 8th grade, she finished her formal education, having to go to work to help support her family. I always remember my mother telling me that my Nana had only two...Read more...
What do Queen Esther and Spider-Man Have in Common?
What do Queen Esther and Spider-Man have in common, you may be wondering (or maybe you aren’t wondering, but I am!). In this month when we celebrate the craziest Jewish holiday, Purim, it’s a good time to be thinking about superheroes and how they use their superpowers for good in the world.
In the delightful new Academy Award winning Spider-Man movie, Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse, there’s an inventive new plot...Read more...
bubkis or oy vey? 2019: A time to shift perspectives
A few weeks ago, I was driving to temple and listening to the news. The commentators were discussing the infamous redacted Flynn memo. One mentioned Mayor Giuliani’s comment that there was “bubkis” in the memo. “On the other hand”, said another, “you could look at the memo...Read more...
"I Am A Different jew today"
I am a different Jew today than I was yesterday,” said 15-year-old Sophia Levin of Pittsburgh. “Anti-Semitism is something that happened in history, that happened in other places.”1
No longer.
Yesterday’s brutal attack was the deadliest Anti-Semitic attack in the United States in history. As we were celebrating a bar mitzvah yesterday morning here at Temple Beth Sholom, those who had come to worship at the Tree...Read more...
Buy Me Some Time!
My colleague and friend, Rabbi Naomi Levy, tells this story in her new book, Einstein and the Rabbi. She is remembering a time when her kids were little and her husband, Rob, was rushing around one morning, particularly harried trying to get ready for work in time to drive carpool. They packed...Read more...
running from the storm
My cousin, Mitzi, in Houston just lost her family home in Hurricane Harvey. The wildfires in Seattle, just caused my dear old friend, Shauna, to be evacuated. And our turn came this week, as the monstrous threat of Irma approached Miami Beach. For the first time in memory, Shabbat Services at Temple Beth Sholom were cancelled because of the storm’s threat and our need to prepare. Like most of you, my family and I...Read more...
why i'm marching
On Monday, August 28, I will be traveling to Washington, D.C. for the day to participate in the One Thousand Ministers’ March for Voting Rights, Health Care, Criminal Justice Reform and Economic Justice. Fifty-four...Read more...
be happy, it's summer
Some of you may be familiar with Dan Ariely’s column in the Saturday edition of the Wall Street Journal. He’s a professor of psychology and behavioral economics at Duke, and people write into him seeking advice on all kinds of social and behavioral issues. My recent favorite — A man writes in:
“Dear Dan,
Have you found any small tricks you can use to make yourself happier?”
Ariely...Read more...
triggering activism
This was a banner week for Temple Beth Sholom’s Social Justice Network Advocacy. It started off on Sunday, Purim, when we collected 50 letters to Florida Senators Garcia and Flores protesting Senate Bill 140, which would permit open carry on campuses, schools and airports. We have now sent in over 150 letters.
On Monday, a small group of us met with Blaire Freedman, Sandy Hook Promise’s Miami representative. We were pleased to...Read more...
