When Tom Brady left the Patriots…the end of an era. When Oprah left television…the end of an era. When the Spice Girls broke up…the end of an era. When MySpace was no longer relevant…the end of an era. The reign of Bibi Netanyahu….the end of an era. The death of Moses, Miriam, and Aaron…the end of an era. In our Torah portion this week, Chukat, we read about the death of Miriam and Aaron, Moses' siblings; and we read about Moses' imminent death…the end of an era. The era of this journey began many years prior, a few months after Moses' birth could no longer be kept secret, his mother sent him in a basket down the Nile River, with Miriam positioning herself to later see him coming down the water's path. All of this, of course, a carefully planned last shot at keeping Moses safe after the pharaoh's decree to kill all of the boys born to the Hebrews. This was the beginning of the Book of Exodus, and the prelude to Moses leading the Hebrews (later … [Read more...]

For generations and hundreds of years, on the eve of Shavuot, Jews from across the globe have gathered in their communities for an evening of study. This evening of study, which often goes late until the wee hours of the morning, is set up to prepare us to "receive" the Torah once more, like we did at Mount Sinai. We can visualize the generations past, sometimes en masse, coming together in loud crowded rooms, as well as the times in history when perhaps only a family was able to gather in secret to study throughout the night. The value of family study and passing on our traditions from generation to generation is a very prominent one here at Temple Emanu-El. I received an email just this week from a congregational family that has three generations at TE, and they were very excited that ALL THREE generations would be studying Hebrew this Spring and into the summer with fellow Temple Emanu-El members. I couldn't help but pause when I read the email, what a BEAUTIFUL thing for THREE … [Read more...]

A spark of holiness entered the walls of Temple Emanu-El this week as we welcomed Worldwide Pandemic Solutions into our building for the distribution of Covid-19 vaccines. The last thing to be celebrated in Temple Emanu-El's old Brill Family Social Hall pre-pandemic was Purim 2020. Then, just a few days later, the world shut down. It was over that summer that the contractors completed the renovations -- and there it was, a beautiful, new, sparkling social hall, with no one able to enjoy it. It is quite fitting to the value system of Temple Emanu-El that the first use of this space is a vaccination site. This is especially the case, as vaccines are the very thing we need people to receive so that we can hold Purim, and many events and gatherings, in our sparkling new space. Our Torah portion this week is Acharei Mot-Kedoshim. Positioned against laws about the duties of Priests, fasting and atonement, sacrifices and sexual relations, we find a list of commandments that instruct the … [Read more...]

With so much going on in the United States, Georgia, and Atlanta, the pandemic, Passover just around the corner, and all the other things going on in our lives... we may have missed some of the headlines coming out of Israel in recent weeks - and they're a really big deal!. Like the fact that Israel is holding its fourth election in just two years on March 23rd!  Or the fact that the Supreme Court just issued a HUGE ruling in favor of recognizing conversions performed by the Reform and Conservative Movements in Israel, resulting in folks who are Jews-by-choice to receive Israeli citizenship (which they previously were unable to do)!  OR the fact that Keren Kayemet L'Yisrael (KKL, the Israeli Jewish National Fund, which has no connection to the JNF based out of New York), is planning to purchase land in Area C of the West Bank! I could write three books diving into all three of these topics, but today, I want to call our attention to the issue of the KKL (with articles at the bottom … [Read more...]

Every month in the Jewish or secular calendar has a feeling to it. This past weekend we entered the joyful Hebrew month of Adar, the month in which we celebrate Purim! מִשֶּׁנִּכְנַס אֲדָר מַרְבִּין בְּשִׂמְחָה MisheNichnas Adar marbin b'simchah, "'As Adar enters, joy is increased,' says Rav Yehudah."* With the month of Adar upon us, now we are called to increase our joy as we build up to Purim. The call to celebrate Purim does not come from  Tanach (though the story resides in the Book of Esther). Rather, the Sages of the Talmud eventually recorded an entire scroll to explain how the holiday should be observed. But they omitted one very important instruction, how we are to increase our joy in the days leading up to and following Purim! Why would the Rabbis leave such a request without the how-to or to-do list? I believe it's because we each find joy in life in different ways. It's pretty hard to tell someone, "Hey, do this, this, and that…find joy!" Instead, it's pretty … [Read more...]