Well, friends, it might feel like Passover all over again. Unlike many other groups of people, we have been here before. We celebrated the Passover holiday with Zoom seders, outdoor, socially distant spreads, and the realization that this year just wasn't going to look like years past. It's time to do it again as we lean into the American side of our American-Jewish or Jewish-American identities and celebrate Thanksgiving. As we sit down to our Thanksgiving tables, more than ever, we may recognize who is missing. Some of us will look around the table and realize that this isn't the table we usually sit at for our Thanksgiving meal. Some of us, those who are the usual hosts, will look around at where our friends and family have sat in years past and think about who will fill those seats when it is safe to gather indoors again. Some of us, like at every holiday, will call to mind the memory of the last Thanksgiving we spent with beloved friends or relatives, who are only with us in … [Read more...]

For the past few years, I have looked at our American civic holidays with an increasingly Jewish lens. My soul and my stomach are no longer satiated by apple pie on the 4th of July or Turkey on Thanksgiving. I need something more on these American High Holy Days. A Jewish Thanksgiving should be more than dressing a bird and putting a proverbial kippah on the bird. A Jewish Thanksgiving ought to be accompanied by mindful acts and words that reflect our Jewish and our American identities. If we truly believe the words of the V'ahavta: to live our Judaism at all times, with all our mind, all our might, and all our soul, then these holidays beg for our Jewish innovation. Surely, Thanksgiving is about gratitude, but a Jewish Thanksgiving must also have tzedakah, and this year, Pikuach Nefesh.  Judaism holds the words we speak in the highest regard. As our Creation narrative goes, the universe was created through God's words. However, words are not enough when it comes to helping our fellow … [Read more...]

There is an overriding flow of an idea in Judaism that by tapping into the wisdom of our tradition, we can live a deeper, more meaningful, life. To aid us in tapping into the potential of the time that we have on earth, we have holidays, rituals, and life-cycles.  These act as reminders of who we (as a community, as individuals) can aspire to be. Most of the time, these reminders (i.e.- mezuzah on your door, blessings before eating, Hebrew baby-naming) are subtle, and the connection that we feel to something 'bigger than us' feels natural. As our engagement to our Judaism, and our Jewish identity, increases, so does the opportunity to transcend the mundane into something elevated (kaddosh). One of the ways that many of our Temple Emanu-El congregants do this, each month, is through Torah study.  The narrative, and our willingness to delve into it, helps us to further recognize our place in changing our lives, and the world around us, for the better.  Rather than through grand … [Read more...]

Holy Energy of the World, I ask that you spread a sukkat shalom, a shelter of peace over those tasked with the accurate, safe, and honest counting of our citizens’ ballots. God of the anxious and the weary, provide a calming presence to those glued to their phones, computer screens, and televisions as they continually hit refresh. Guide them on a path toward screen breaks and fresh air. God of the timid and the afraid, may our streets be protected from violence, outrage, and a lashing out against the other. May storefronts, homes, and buildings be protected from damage and harm. God of the quiet voice within, may the citizens of this country find the courage to fight for justice for their neighbors each and every day. God of strength and goodness, once the election is decided, may we each move forward, placing one foot in front of the other, extending a hand to those who have fallen, and continuing to lift up those in need. May we all engage in the necessary work to heal our divisions, … [Read more...]

In short, everything. In Pirkei Avot, the sage Hillel says “al tifros min hatzibur”—do not separate yourself from the community. For the past 300 years, wherever Jews have lived freely, we have engaged deeply in the proper stewardship of the public. The desire to serve others for the benefit of all comes directly from our sacred texts like the passage from Hillel above. Later, in the Talmud, Rabbi Yitzḥak teaches, “A ruler is not to be appointed unless the community is first consulted.” Now, we shouldn’t read this as the clear predecessor of our modern democracy, BUT it is an endorsement that the leadership and the everyday citizens must work together. Even the prophet Jeremiah, who often speaks of doom and gloom, shared these words from God when the Israelites were exiled by the Babylonians, “seek the welfare of the city to which I have exiled you and pray to God on its behalf; for in its prosperity you shall prosper.” Wherever the Jewish community is found, in Eretz Yisrael, the Land … [Read more...]