On every flight to Israel that I’ve ever been on the entire plane breaks out into applause upon landing. Why is that? The only other instance that I’ve seen an airplane full of people applaud like this is when the pilot touches us down after a truly hazardous flight full of fear and turbulence. It seems as if we clap out of gratitude for being delivered from danger to safety.  When this happens, are we clapping for the pilot?  For The Divine?  For ourselves and the lives that we still get to live?  Maybe all three… The sounds of our hands earnestly coming together in a brief staccato burst are, in a fashion, a spontaneous prayer by a large group of total strangers who share only a departure point, but ultimately, a destiny together. Like these bumpy flights that make us catch our breath, when we vigorously clap our hands together upon every arrival in Tel Aviv, are we too, (those who understand the origins of our long Jewish journey), engaging in some sort of primal prayer with our … [Read more...]

One of my true priorities as a rabbi is to connect people with Israel. Most summers, we are able to lead a Temple Emanu-El mission to Israel where we spend some of the most meaningful ten days of our congregational life. This summer was no exception. More than two dozen of us toured the country, and I was delighted how quickly our group bonded with one another, and to this land which has been at the center of our spiritual consciousness since time began. This is the reason that I delight in bringing our people to Israel.  To witness them, and empower them as I’m able to, recognize that miracles on a grand scale are not mere fantasy… to see what happens when they recognize themselves as a vital part of this Jewish story… and to share our part in what just might be a common destiny. Of course, this happens at first in small ways, through stories, and tastes, and echoes off of the Jerusalem stone. This Friday night I am pleased to welcome some of the folks from our trip to join me on the … [Read more...]

Have you ever seen Temple Emanu-El congregants wearing TE tie-dye t-shirts atop a bedazzled blue and white float in the Dunwoody 4th of July parade? Tomorrow you will! Like everything at Temple Emanu-El, nothing just appears out of thin air, and we appreciate the Summerfield, Levy, and Bieber families (and the rest of the crew!) for building this symbol of our active Jewish presence in our local community with their time, effort, and joy. As a statement, this is important.  I’m proud of Temple Emanu-El for who we are, what we stand for, and the good that we do. We are Jewish-Americans, and there is no better place for us to celebrate our hyphenated identity than on America’s Independence Day. Jews have been in Georgia since before America was a country, and we continue to participate, and to lead, in every corner of civic life. One of our continuous self-proclaimed responsibilities is to work towards, and to protect, the freedom of all Americans, regardless of their beliefs, color, … [Read more...]

There is a special blessing from the Talmud that we are supposed to say when we encounter a large group of people. We are supposed to say: Blessed is the Wise Knower of Hidden Truths who sees that each person’s knowledge is different from the next, just like each person’s appearance is different from the rest. When I got to camp this past week, in some ways I was overwhelmed by the large group of people and activities that were going on. But this text grounded me in the idea that each person had something to teach me and that each individual at camp helps to make the entire camp team. The camp experience is about the capacity of the individual AND the collective. There are individuals stars, but at the end of the day, camp is about coming together as a kehillah (community), to be part of something larger than ourselves. That capacity for greatness is what I have seen this past week on faculty at URJ Camp Coleman. From my perspective, camp is one long, amazing episode of Saturday Night … [Read more...]

Kol Haneshama T’halel Yah! Let every soul praise God! -Psalm 150 I love this psalm because it lists all of the various synagogue instruments we use to pray and bless God: horns, harps, timbrels, lutes, cymbals, dancing, and pipes. If only each of us could play each of these instruments as our vehicle for connecting to God. Taking a closer at the text, we realize that there is no singular way to reach God. Those of us who are able may choose to express ourselves physically through instruments or dance, or song. However, this is not where the text ends. Neshama, “soul” also means “breath”! Playing all of these instruments, or expressing ourselves through dance or song is lovely, but concluding the list of instruments with neshama-breath helps us understand that to connect to God, we only need to access our breath. Our breath becomes a holy instrument: Let all that breathes praise God! In this instance, something that seems insurmountable or exclusive becomes simple and inclusive. We all … [Read more...]