This Saturday night, starting at 6pm here at Temple Emanu-El, we will begin our evening of learning to celebrate Shavuot. Shavuot is the holiday that commemorates God’s revelation of Torah to the Jewish people, and our ability to receive it (continuously) today. Do you believe that God revealed the Torah to Moses on Sinai? Or, do you believe that the Torah was written by dozens of authors over centuries, with (perhaps) The Divine in the editing process? Either way, Judaism holds that you are able to actively participate in an ongoing spiritual evolution that gradually has the potential to bring you, and the world, towards a place of goodness, justice, and meaning. Shavuot is our annual celebration of this possibility. In conjunction with some of our neighboring Reform Synagogues, we will have the chance to engage in a spiritual sing-along (outside, weather permitting), options to learn in short study sessions with various rabbis, and have a traditional diary (cheesecake) … [Read more...]
Rabbi, what’s the point of ritual in the 21st century?
We may remember those early days of a new school, a new summer camp, or a new job as being chaotic. However, we become veterans at something when we develop a routine, rituals, for our day to day lives. For our kids or grandkids, the ritual might be playing with their friends at recess or eating lunch with the same people, or sitting in the same seat in the classroom. For us, the rituals could be date nights with friends or loved ones, morning meditations we have around a cup of coffee, or the spiritual moments we take for ourselves at the end of a day, a week, or a year. Ritual is a gateway to make sense of an otherwise chaotic world. When we press pause on Shabbat, we make a ritual out of rest. We force ourselves to pull back from the daily grind--from the trees--and appreciate the greater world--the whole forest. The best kinds of ritual are the ones that help us to become more aware of ourselves, our connection with others, and in some special cases, with God. Anyone who has … [Read more...]
The Practice of Being Enough
Have you ever heard a person say, “I am a bad Jew”? I hear it all the time, usually in response to something having to do with Jewish life or spirituality. Upon further inquiry, I usually find out what that statement means. Sometimes it means, “I don’t know as much as I feel I ought to know.” Or, “I don’t go to synagogue, for various reasons having to do with finances, habits, or lack of time.” Or, “Last time I thought about religion or spirituality, I was thirteen years old and I have not picked up a book about Judaism or had a teacher since because life is crazy busy.” Often times, it is also “one of my parents, or my spouse, is not Jewish and I have been made to feel less than.” I recognize this issue, as it comes up for me in a multitude of ways. When am I enough? What does it mean to be enough? These questions are ubiquitous and come up for people in all concepts of their identity: parenthood, attractiveness, education, job success, and social status. Usually, underneath … [Read more...]
Confirmation of Our Future
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 effected 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 Shabbat … [Read more...]
Psalms of Welcome: Kabbalat Panim l’ Shabbat
Think of an extraordinary moment in your life. Everything surrounding you seemed brighter, more vivid. The air sizzled with electricity and excitement. Perhaps you are remembering your wedding day, a graduation, bar or bat mitzvah, your conversion, the first time you looked into your new baby’s eyes. The feelings and emotions that surround these pivotal moments elevates them into another world, the world of holiness. Each week over Shabbat, we ascend to time and space; in fact, we even have a name for it: “kabbalat panim,” which means, “receiving or welcoming the faces.” This phrase is often associated with a wedding, when families welcome their guests with a reception before the ceremony. This reception may be simple or elaborate with food and drink, and toasts. Shabbat liturgy and ritual mirrors this wedding reception as we welcome the Sabbath bride on Friday evenings. We gather a bit before services and greet each other. Jewish wedding liturgy is ripe with imagery of the natural … [Read more...]
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