Today is the 104th day of October 7th, a day we will re-live until every hostage is home. However, today is more difficult than most days since the Black Shabbat. Today is Kfir Bibas's birthday. A nine-month-old baby who was taken hostage marks one year of life, a quarter of which has been in captivity. A day meant for unbridled joy is as dark as the deepest night of winter. All I can think of is the mantra of these 104 days, "Bring Them Home." I pray these words each day I utter "Acheinu Kol Beit Yisrael, Our Brothers and Sisters, All the House of Israel." This prayer is one we've added to our services on Friday night, and it is one I've prayed multiple times a day, every day since October 7th:  Our brothers and sisters, the whole house of Israel, who are in distress and captivity who wander over the sea and land -  May God have mercy on them and bring them from distress to comfort, from darkness to light, from slavery to redemption, now, swiftly, and soon.  Recently, I saw a video of … [Read more...]

This past Friday night was our Legislative & MLK Shabbat dinner & service.  We had more than 300 people seated for dinner, including 50 elected officials.   Each elected official had a TE "buddy" who was tasked to make them feel welcome, introduce them around, convey what it is like to be a Jew in America right now and to advocate for HB30 "the antisemitism bill" in the GA State legislature.   It was important to us for our guests to take part in a positive, Jewish ritual experience.  We started the evening with our traditional blessings, heard from a few legislative leaders, and then had Shabbat dinner together. The vast majority of the elected officials stayed with us for Shabbat services, which were overflowing with both joy and the seriousness of the world we live in.  The sermonettes relayed the biblical connections to Civil rights, the courage of Rabbi AJ Heschel and Reverend ML King, the situation in Israel, and keeping our captives in Gaza at the forefront of our … [Read more...]

This past Saturday night, we experienced something beautiful. For a few years now, we have had what I call an 'interfaith triangle' between Temple Emanu-El, the Presbyterians at St. Luke's, and the Muslims from the Istanbul Cultural Center. Each year, each of us hosts the other two for a special occasion. This past Sukkot, we had 90 people (about a 1/3rd from each group) at Temple Emanu-El to dine in our sukkah, experience our Sukkot customs, have conversation and fellowship, and then informally 'tour' our sanctuary.  My heart soared to see our congregants explaining the Jewish symbols and taking out our Torahs to show our friends our most sacred books. For Ramadan, the Istanbul Cultural Center annually hosts us for Iftar, which is their break fast in the evening after a day of fasting.  They are warm and gracious, and the food is out of this world. In December, St. Luke's hosted both groups for their phenomenal Advent service.  This community could not be more welcoming to us and to … [Read more...]

It's good to be back! After time away on maternity leave to bond with our new baby, Ozzie, I'm back in the office full-time and excited to reconnect with everyone - I've missed you!  Many thanks to all those who reached out with words of congratulations, gifts, and food. Temple Emanu-El is a special community, and Max, Zohara, Ozzie, and I have felt all of the love. Thank You.  This Friday night is my first Shabbat evening back. I say Shabbat evening because I took Ozzie to his first Tot Shabbat in late December. We rocked out with SEVENTY other parents, grandparents, and kids on a Saturday morning (okay, he slept through the whole thing, but it was nice to be "just ima (mom)" and walk through those Temple Emanu-El doors.  However, this Friday night, after not being around many adults for the last 12 weeks I would LOVE to reconnect with you at services. Maybe increased service attendance even made it on your list of New Year's Resolutions. Friday night kicks off the first Shabbat of … [Read more...]

Dear Temple Emanu-El, Marita & I just returned from our 10-day volunteer mission trip to Israel.  Some of our experiences we have shared on Facebook (personal, and TE page), and I suspect that we will share additional snippets and vignettes in sermons and TE gatherings over the next few weeks. Truth be told, this experience is one of the most profound we have ever had, and I suspect it will influence who we are as people for the rest of our lives. We want to invite you to spend an hour with us over Zoom this Sunday night, 8:00pm.  Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88389263023 We hope to share more deeply some of our encounters, examples of Israeli resilience, and our 'take' on the mood, hopes, and fears from the ground. Things are moving quickly in Israel and on the international stage.  That is why we would like to share our recent experiences with you, soon.   You are invited. There is one other thing that I would like to share with you at this moment.  All over Israel, people … [Read more...]