Yes, you read that correctly. Today is the final edition of the Thursday Kesher Quick email.  Over the last few months, we've realized how many emails we send in a week. It's a lot. Too many, in fact. Our goal is for congregants to know just how many events and initiatives are happening at Temple Emanu-El, and we've heard the feedback that stuffing your email inboxes is not the way. You'll notice a few significant changes in our marketing and communication beginning Monday, July 15th.   You'll receive the Kesher Quick every Monday, which includes the Rabbi's message and calendar events for the upcoming weeks.   We will continue to send birth announcements and bereavement notices to the congregation, as well as other non-event-related announcements, as needed.  Individual events, initiatives, and updates will be posted on social media Facebook  and Instagram .  If you're not on social media, you will still have access to all important information through the Monday Kesher Quick, your … [Read more...]

Yes! The middle child of Jewish holidays, Shavuot, is this Wednesday. Packed between Pesach and the High Holy Days, it is easy to forget about this major Jewish celebration. Over our history, Shavuot has been a holiday to mark the fruit harvest, the wheat harvest, and the giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai. In the last 500 years, most communities that celebrate Shavuot hold all-night study-a-thons and feast on dairy treats.   Where does this tradition come from?  Over 500 years ago, Rabbi Shlomo Alkebetz-the very same rabbi who wrote L'cha Dodi- created a tradition to study all night. Rabbi Alkebetz wrote in one of his books that he and his study partner, Rabbi Yosef Karo, once stayed up all night on Shavuot to study sacred Jewish texts together. After hours of study, late into the night, Rabbis Aklebetz and Karo heard the voice of God and fell onto their faces out of fear and awe.  Rabbi Karo recorded in one of his books that the custom in his synagogue was to decorate with green plants … [Read more...]

Memorial Day and Lag b 'Omer Two holidays, Memorial Day and Lag b 'Omer, are approaching this weekend. While you may be more familiar with one, it's interesting to note that our National Day of Remembrance and Lag b 'Omer share significant commonalities. On the Jewish calendar, the period between Pesach and Shavuot is called the Omer. We count each night between the two holidays for a total of forty-nine days. The Torah's explanation for these days is sparse, but rabbinic literature provides some context. The forty-nine days are solemn. In some Jewish communities, marriages aren't held during this time, music is not played in public, and no one gets a haircut. However, the 33rd day of the Omer is a break in the dour mood. According to rabbinic lore, a plague had killed thousands of Rabbi Akiva's students during the Omer; however, on the 33rd day-Lamed-Gimel "Lag" in Hebrew letters-no one died. Subsequent rabbinic generations made the 33rd day of the Omer a day of celebration in … [Read more...]

We declare, Am Yisrael Chai, the people of Israel live. In every generation, our enemies sought our destruction, yet we have prevailed over them. We have survived, and more than that, we have thrived to this day. We celebrate our resiliency every year as we commemorate three significant days in the Jewish calendar: Holocaust Remembrance Day, Israel's Memorial Day, and Israel's Independence Day.   This year, these three days carry complicated meanings. We remember those who have died so we may live. Their sacrifice is all the more poignant as we still combat the same Jew-hatred our ancestors did in generations past.   We can hold two feelings at once. We can grieve the senseless deaths of millions in the Shoah, the deaths of soldiers on the battlefield, and the death of victims of terror. And, we can still celebrate that Jewish babies are born, Jews can make aliyah to Israel, and Jews still have self-determination in our ancestral land.   We have much to celebrate and much to mourn, but … [Read more...]

I don't worry about antisemitism from white nationalists, skinheads, or neo-Nazis. I can identify that form of antisemitism a mile away. Those kinds of people who hate Jews aren't shy to admit their beliefs. What worries me, what keeps me up at night, are the folks who cloak their antisemitism under the garb of social justice. For my entire life, social justice was on the banner of my Jewish identity. I grew up on a steady diet of helping the hungry, the poor, and the orphans, all as a manifestation of my Jewish identity. I marched for reproductive rights, for LGBTQ causes, and against racism-and I will continue to do so. What's changed is that many of the same folks who marched alongside me now see my Zionist beliefs as the problem. I am a Zionist. I am one who believes that the Jewish people have a right to self-determination in the Land of Israel. In the last few months, I've seen Zionism become a dirty term once again. Today, this more nefarious iteration of antisemitism is under a … [Read more...]