On Thursday, I'll be away for ten days as the rabbi-on-staff for Atlanta's December Honeymoon Israel Trip.   Temple Emanu-El is a proud Reform Zionist congregation, which is why I am investing this time away from my family and my congregational family to share my love of Israel with the next generation of young adults. Israel is a priority of our community, and as I preached on Erev Rosh HaShanah, we enrich our spiritual toolkit when we travel to Israel.   Honeymoon Israel's mission is "to provide immersive trips to Israel for locally based cohorts of couples (age 25-40) that have at least one Jewish partner, early in their committed relationship, creating communities of couples who are building families with deep and meaningful connections to Jewish life and the Jewish people."  If you haven't heard of it before, Honeymoon Israel (HMI) is a national organization co-founded by Temple Emanu-El member Mike Wise. The local Atlanta Director of Community Engagement, Elana Pollack, is also a … [Read more...]

As you set your table for Thanksgiving like a Norman Rockwell painting or prepare to pull up a chair at a Pinterest-like dining room table, take a moment to give thanks before diving into the food that took hours to prepare and will be consumed in fewer than ten minutes time.  In our family, whether on Shabbat, for birthday celebrations, or secular holidays, we always begin our meal with the tzedakah box. Everyone receives a coin from the moment they are old enough to hold it. We go around the room and each person shares something they are thankful for, and then they drop their coin into the box.  There is a ritual to the order. Pick up a coin, share gratitude, drop the coin into the tzedakah box, and pass the box to the next person.  To engage in such a ritual is to create a holy space, a sacred space. Your dining room is no longer just a dining room; now, it is the central place of kindness in your home. Giving gratitude at the start of the meal sets the tone for the whole … [Read more...]

Have you heard the joke about the kid who comes home from college, and says to his parents, "its remarkable how much YOU have learned in four years."  It's funny in that most of us see the wonderful irony that the kid who leaves home after High School thinking that his parents know nothing about the world, comes back realizing that actually, they actually are decently wise. It reminds me of what my father told me at 17 years old, "You should move out now while you still know everything!"  Certainly I was that kid when I left home, and also was that young man when I realized that my parents have lots of good life wisdom, and are generous to share it with me. Early in my rabbinic career, I was having trouble balancing work with other things that were really important to me.  This is not an uncommon problem for many of us, and balance is something that is not figured out and done, but rather requires constant attention and correction.  In this particular case, I was trying to figure out … [Read more...]

Satire is a key part of Jewish identity. Without the ability to laugh, I don't think the Jewish people would have survived to this day. Even as a rabbi, some of the best advice I received as a rabbinical student was to take the work seriously, but don't take yourself too seriously. I've tried to live by those words for the better part of a decade now. For better or for worse, as a professional Jew, I spend a lot of time immersed in the sacred and holy, and it is all too easy to live a life consumed by the seriousness that we use to approach much of Jewish life. Maybe that's why satire is necessary for Jewish identity-to cut through narcissism and ego like a knife through butter. In my opinion, no one does this better than the hit Israeli TV series, "The Jews are Coming." They imagine the ridiculous explanation Abraham gave to Isaac, and Ishmael right before their circumcision. They imagine what would have happened if one of the Israelites left their wallet in the sea after Moses led … [Read more...]

Towards the end of our services each Shabbat, we do something very beautiful- we recall those whom we have loved but who have died, and with their names on our lips and their image in our minds, we recite the Mourner's Kaddish.  Yidgadal V'yitkadash Shmey raba… For most of my life, I found this timing to be confusing and out of sync with a typical Shabbat service.  My reasoning was always that it seemed disjointed to have such a macabre sentiment at the end of what was (otherwise) a joyous worship celebration. However, with age (and maybe a bit of wisdom), I now see the Mourner's Kaddish at the end of our Shabbat service as magnificently and courageously placed by our sages.  For what the Mourner's Kaddish does is bring the memories of folks who were absolutely dear to the forefront of our mind, as if their presence was invited into the Sanctuary, and for a moment, is able to linger with us. The Mourner's Kaddish serves then, not as a 'downer', but rather as a wormhole through … [Read more...]