This week’s Torah portion, Vayechi (Genesis 47:28-50:26), and this week’s haftarah portion from I Kings (2:1-12) tell of the death of two great patriarchs, Jacob and King David, respectively.  However, a closer look at both narratives reveal that they are also about hearing the ‘living will’ of each man from his deathbed.  Judaism truly elevates this act of relaying to one’s children and grandchildren, in person, the values that you hold highest, and your wishes for how they might conduct themselves in the years after you are gone. These past few days, and weeks, have been hard for many of our Temple Emanu-El congregants, with the passing of truly respected pillars of our community, including one of our past TE Presidents.  As a rabbi of our congregation, I sometimes have the honor of being with members of our congregation as they approach their final breath, and with their family through burial and shiva.  One of the conversations that is typically had is worrying … [Read more...]

The World Zionist Congress Elections are coming soon, and our congregation’s votes are critical to maintaining a large Reform presence! The election (which happens every five years)  is our chance to have the Reform Movement’s voice and priorities heard in Israel. This is our chance to combat the discrimination the Reform Movement faces in Israel. Together we can grow our Reform Movement and work towards making progress on the issues we care about: religious freedom, equality, and many more. This process is critically important to the allocation of funds toward progressive causes in Israel. Did you know that the Israeli government pays the salaries of hundreds of rabbis, but only 9 are Reform? Or, that while only 20% of the Israeli population is comprised of Orthodox Jews, 100% of Jewish marriages in Israel are controlled by the Orthodox Chief  Rabbinate? A vote for ARZA is a vote to make changes to these types of discrimination. We often sit from the comfort of our American homes and … [Read more...]

Chag Urim Sameach- Happy Chanukah everyone! Last week, we began to read about Joseph, our favorite dreamer, and Jacob’s favorite son. Although he is a star in his father’s eyes, Joseph descends lower and lower: first into a pit, then through many slave trades, and finally down to Egypt. As Joseph descends toward his rock bottom, the Torah reminds us not once, but twice that God is with Joseph.  When Joseph moves through his many sales as a slave, God remains “with Joseph, when he was successful and also when he stayed in the house of his Egyptian master [Potiphar].” Later in the same chapter, as Potiphar throws Joseph in prison, we read for a second time, “Adonai was with Joseph, and whatever he did, Adonai made successful.” These two verses illumine that even in our darkest moments, or lowest of circumstances, God is with us, even when things are so dark that we cannot see or feel the light of God’s presence. The Or HaChayyim, a Moroccan born rabbi of the 18th century explains that … [Read more...]

Jewish-ness is not something easily determined. Are we a race? A religion? A nationality? An ethnicity? Or, maybe, we are all of these things or something else entirely. We have been questioning how to categorize the Jewish people for thousands of years, and the recent executive order by the President has brought this question to the fore once again. In the early days of the Reform Movement, back in the 19th century, our founders declared that the Jewish people were only a religious group. The earliest Zionists then firmly stated that Jews represent a nationality. These, however, are only two opinions of the thousands on the core question, “who are the Jewish people?” In America, it is easy to forget that half of the global Jewish population does not come from a European background. The vast majority of American Jewry is associated with Ashkenazi descent that we take the diversity of the Jewish people for granted. It’s difficult to claim that the Jewish people are a single ethnic group … [Read more...]