On the Sixth Day of Creation, God created Adam. God led Adam around the Garden of Eden to acquaint them with their surroundings. Our rabbis of old imagined a bit of the instructions God left Adam (the text is featured below).* One vital point God enjoined upon Adam was the warning not to corrupt and destroy the world because there would be no one to follow and repair it. There are two important points in God's warning. First, God's injunction is negative, "Don't corrupt and destroy the Earth."; this is a different instruction from, "You must preserve and protect the Earth." The phrase in the midrash is a lot like handing the keys of your car to a teenager and saying, "Don't wreck it.", rather than saying, "Drive safe." Second, inherent in this midrash is the idea that the world can only be spoiled if humans do it. Left to its own devices, the midrash seems to imply, the world would be just fine. We would be wise to take both these prompts to heart: the world was created for … [Read more...]

I once attended a Shabbat dinner that was filled with the tastiest of challot, fish, chicken, vegetables, delightful individuals, and good conversation. Things felt very comfortable until we came to the end of the meal. That's when we took the time to thank God for providing us with the food we had just consumed and satiating our hunger - Birkat HaMazon.   I thought to myself, "Ooooo, how wonderful, I loved singing Birkat HaMazon at NFTY events, I haven't heard it in so long." But a minute or so into the prayer I realized we had departed from the words that I recognized. That's because we were doing the "full version" of the prayer, rather than the adapted "shorter version." So I sat there quietly as everyone around me smiled and sang. I'd come in when it was the part I knew and then go back to smiling awkwardly pretending to look at the pages of the birkon*.   As we were walking home from the dinner, I sort of pulled a friend aside and said, "hey, sooooo I didn't really know that … [Read more...]

You may have noticed that tomorrow night's Shabbat service is at an earlier time (6:30p) and we have dubbed it "Shabbatukah." Meaning, that it is the Shabbat that falls in the middle of Hanukkah, so we combine the two with our intentions, music, prayers, and rituals. The scene, at Temple Emanu-El, is one that I love: tons of kids running around, menorah's lit, candles flickering, cake pops and Hanukkah sing-alongs. It's fun. But behind that delightful bustle, with the "Shabbatukah" rituals, comes a profound message through the ages: Jews are meant to bring more light into the world, especially when the proverbial season is at its most dark. And…that each of us, starting with our smallest children, are empowered to do so. Having the newest Jewish generation know this, and believe it, makes a huge difference in their lives. Their belief in themselves as forces for good, and justice, and 'shalom' are the best indicator that we have that our world will have champions for a brighter … [Read more...]

When I first wore my Apple Watch I was obsessed with "closing my rings." The watch has daily health goals, standing for a certain number of hours, moving for a certain number of minutes, and burning a certain number of calories. Completing all three goals closes the rings and tiny fireworks go off on the watch face. It's not possible to "close your rings" in one 30-minute workout. Meeting these fitness goals requires consistent effort over the course of a day.   A rabbi two thousand years ago, Rabbi Meir, began a Jewish system like my Apple Watch. Rather than a focus on exercise, Rabbi Meir's goal was to recite a certain number of blessings each day. He believed that achieving Jewish fitness happened by reciting 100 blessings each day.* Now, unless you're going to read off a list at the end of each day to meet your goal-a pretty uninspiring way to bless-saying 100 blessings in a day requires constant work and attention.    While we may not say 100 blessings each day, Jewish tradition … [Read more...]

At Temple Emanu-El, our Social Justice (Tikkun Olam) initiatives have become the life-blood of our synagogue community. Our sacred stories, again and again, point to the Jewish 'purpose for being'- that is, to work in partnership with God to heal our broken world. That is the Jewish mission for all time, and each Jewish generation is tasked to do their part. This includes me.  This includes you. How? By making concerted efforts with our time, resources and intentions to help those in need.  To help our neighbors who are hungry.  To help very real people who are scared, and who are hurting. Clearly there is tremendous need. Our Social Justice committee at Temple Emanu-El does an amazing job at creating opportunities for each of us to roll up our proverbial sleeves and to do our part. They continue to work hard to bring you opportunities to do real good in our local community, at times that are convenient to you. This has become a priority at TE, and for many of our congregants, … [Read more...]