Last Saturday and this Friday night, our families with children in grades 4-6 came together for our annual B'nei Mitzvah Family Program. This year's theme: God Shopping. We transform the Social Hall into a "Mall." Tables represent stores, while bright colored paper and stickers fill those tables with "items" for the kids and their parents to "purchase." Their shopping list is specific, "buy something that fits…": Your personal theology, something my parent(s) believe(s) or my child believes…, I'm not sure if…, I hope that…, I think most believe … Stores are called: the Rabbinic Republic, Spinoza's Spices, and Borowitz and Noble's Books -to name a few. Each store is thematic, Jewish, and reflective of popular theological views throughout Jewish history. For many of our families, this is the very first time that parents and kids are having deep conversations about their beliefs about God. Our program reminds our families that the B'nei Mitzvah … [Read more...]
Confirmation of our Judaism
This Friday night, I would ask that you make a real effort to come to our Shabbat services. Even more than usual, I strongly suspect that they will move you, inspire you, and connect you. Why? Because this one Shabbat each year, I find myself especially affected in a way that I would label 'profound.' Why? Because our services this Friday night will be led by our graduating Confirmation class of 10th graders. Stop. Please take a moment to pause on these last words. You might think I'm asking you to come to services to support our 10th graders who have been studying together for these past two years every Sunday with me in my office, who have volunteered together in our community feeding the hungry, who have committed to leading our Jewish Community, and who have traveled together to our nation's capital to lobby our elected politicians on matters that are priorities for the Jews of Georgia. Sure. Yes, please. Come support them. But I'm asking you to come to Temple Emanu-El this … [Read more...]
Without flour, there is no Torah
After the beginning of Pesach, we count 49 days to the next major Jewish holiday, Shavuot. Ironically, though Shavuot is considered one of the top five biggest biblical holidays (next to Pesach, Sukkot, Rosh HaShanah, and Yom Kippur), most of us scratch our heads when we think about how best to commemorate a holiday based solely around the first wheat harvest in Israel. For thousands of years, our rabbis considered this dilemma too and connected Shavuot with the giving of Torah-a gift as precious and nourishing as the wheat harvested from the field. An adage from rabbinic literature goes, "Without flour, there can be no Torah. And without Torah, there can be no flour." Undoubtedly, the author of this quote was referring to the fact that each one of us needs to be engaged in work that provides for our body just as much as the Torah provides food for our mind and soul. This is the ancient precursor to achieving a "work-life balance." We must prioritize feeding ourselves before we can … [Read more...]
Zebulon & Issachar…who?
Beginning this evening, Temple Emanu-El is honored to host our Scholar in Residence, Rabbi Eli Herscher. It has been years since we have had a Scholar in Residence, and it is a very big deal that we are able to do this. For decades, Lee and Arlene Katz sponsored our outside scholars, brought in to teach us at a very high level. This year, Norman and Diane Cohen have taken up the torch, and through their largess, have allowed our entire Temple Emanu-El community to benefit. This relationship of financially supporting higher Jewish scholarship has its roots all the way back to biblical times. In Torah, when the 12 tribes are listed, they are usually listed and assigned a role (or destiny) separately, in chronological birth order. However, there are two tribes that provide a constant exception to this rule: Zebulon and Issachar. As sons, both of them came from Jacob and Leah, with Issachar being the fifth born child of Jacob, and Zebulon being the sixth (Genesis 30:18-20). However, … [Read more...]
“If I am not for the bees, who will bee for me?”
Our sage Hillel should have said these words: "If I am not for the bees, who will bee for me?" A Buzz Worthy Announcement In the next few weeks, you will notice some new workers around Temple Emanu-El. These workers will be growing food in our garden, helping flowers to bloom on the property, and making lots and lots of honey! Yes, you guessed it, we're welcoming two hives of honeybees to Temple Emanu-El this Spring. Why is Temple Emanu-El bringing honeybees onto our campus? Honeybees are crucial to human life; without honeybees, there would be no us! As a congregation that works to heal our world, hosting honeybees is one of the best and easiest ways to do that. While we may be able to taste a bit of Temple Emanu-El honey, a honeybee is worth 10 or 20 times the value of its honey. Honeybees pollinate ONE-THIRD of all crops in the United States. By hosting bees on our campus, we are adding more pollinators to the Sandy Springs/Dunwoody area. We hope you will be inspired to bring a … [Read more...]
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