While pre-Chanukah celebrations kicked off with a bang at last Friday night's Shabbat service, it is this Sunday night that we will kindle the candles for the first night of Chanukah. Growing up it never felt like a statement to have a menorah shining brightly from our front window - it's just what we did. However, today, I field lots of questions surrounding an uneasiness about publicly displaying our Jewish identity. With rising antisemitism today, to place our menorah in the window does feel like a statement. But just like we have a mezuzah outside our front door, placing a menorah in the window is a declaration that we are proud of our Jewish identity and that in the darkness of winter we want to bring more light to the world. When we place a menorah in the window this Chanukah, we make the following declarations: We are proud to be Jewish and will not live in fear. Despite threats against our communities and people throughout history, we know our purpose is to spread … [Read more...]
The Meaning of Chanukah Isn’t About the Oil
Yes, you read correctly. The meaning of Chanukah isn't found in the oil. The meaning of Chanukah is in what those lights stand for. Specifically, that a small band of determined Jews can thwart those who would persecute them. The miracle of Chanukah is that we are still here today. Our persecutors didn't stop when Judah Maccabee and the rest of the Hasmonean Jews pushed out the Assyrian Greeks from the Land of Israel in 2000+ years ago. We've survived and thrived despite the best efforts of Pharaohs, Caesars, Emperors, Sultans, Kings, Queens, Popes, Czars, and Fuhrers-the list goes on. When we celebrate Chanukah, we make a powerful statement that we are proud to be Jewish. That's why the Chanukah lights are meant to be seen in the window of any Jewish home. The light that shines from the Chanukah menorah is for the world to see the joy we feel for being Jewish. Join Rabbi Spike, Jessica, and me this Friday for an early congregational celebration of Chanukah. Join us for services at … [Read more...]
I’m heading to Israel!
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...]
Happy Thanksgiving!
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...]
Put It On Your Calendar
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...]
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