Throughout the Israelite's journey from slavery to freedom, they frequently paused for head counts of those who were "from the age of twenty years up" (i.e. Num. 1:3, 18, 26:4). These Israelites were regarded as capable of bearing arms and therefore defending their people. Serving wasn't optional, they were commanded.   In America today, we are not commanded to serve in our military, and yet many Jews have done so since before we were declared a nation, serving in militias for the Thirteen Colonies. On Veterans Day we honor those who took up the call to defend the United States of America, even without a command from God. In serving, these veterans allowed for us to continue to live in a country that endeavors to uphold certain inalienable rights, chief among them is the freedom to worship our Creator as we please.  Take a moment today to say thank you to a veteran, Jewish or not (though we have many Jewish veterans in our congregation).   To hear a few of the stories from Temple … [Read more...]

This week's Torah portion, Toledot, pans in on our patriarch Jacob when he was just a teen-ager.  As a result of some bad luck and worse choices, Jacob is fleeing for his life.  As he makes his way through the land, rent from his family and the safety of his home, he feels both alone and abandoned.  As darkness descends Jacob is forced to find a ditch on the side of the road to sleep, a rock serving as a pillow beneath his head.   Physically and spiritually, he is depressed into the dust of the world. Our Rabbis take the physical journey of Jacob and extend it into the realm of 'spiritual sojourn'.  Jacob, in his doubts, was experiencing what we would call 'the dark night of the Soul.' - A state of paralyzing doubt about everything we think that we 'know', including our existential place in the world. Mystics have described 'the dark night of the soul' to be like a snake shedding its skin… meaning… one's previous way of 'being' has been outgrown, and thus shed like a skin, … [Read more...]

In the early 20th century, Reform congregations in America were toying with the idea of moving the main weekly service from Friday or Saturday to Sunday. For the few congregations who followed through with the idea these Sunday services did not replace Shabbat. Instead, the prayers typically recited on Shabbat were switched for the weekday language. The reason some synagogues did this was to be like the churches down the street. This way, Jews and Gentiles would pray at the same time, on the same day, and afterwards they could all go out and enjoy bagels and lox together in their Sunday best. The idea caught on in a couple of congregations around the country; eventually, however, Sunday services died out. Still, synagogue education takes place on Sunday for a similar reason-so Jews and their Christian neighbors could spend Sunday afternoon together.   As Jews in America, we are used to bending our customs and traditions to live fully as Americans and as Jews. Sometimes, however, the … [Read more...]

In Torah we Jews are called, Or LaGoyim, A Light unto the Nations. It is both God's description of who we Jews are at our very core, and an aspirational challenge from God of what we might yet become. But it doesn't just happen.  We have to do the work to make it so. In my mind, Or LaGoyim, A Light unto the Nations, evokes the visual imagery of a spotlight cutting through the dark night, its peak melding into the heavens, its source right here on the ground. We at Temple Emanu-El are part of that source. Or, perhaps, the imagery for Or LaGoyim is a lighthouse, meant to guide against the winds of storm and rocky shores. We can be that light. However, I most like the light imagery for Or LaGoyim of the Havdallah candle, which is really several candles intertwined so that when lit, the wicks combine to become a torch. Burning bright. All of us together. A sense of purpose. Connecting us to our family, our people, our history, our destiny, and to Our Source. Here at Emanu-El, those wicks … [Read more...]