In some ways, the High Holidays (and Yom Kippur in particular) are ‘artificial lines in the sand.’ Meaning, the intense internal work that we seek to do for our own lives, and the health of our community can be done at any time, but for the vast majority of us, it is not. Life is busy. Introspection is hard. So Judaism gives us a set period of time for this ‘project’ – the days leading up to Yom Kippur. Although it is profoundly personal, we don’t do it alone, but rather as a ‘team’ with Jews everywhere charged towards this effort. One of the main components of Yom Kippur is to recognize who we have wronged in the past year, to try our best to correct the harm we have done, to internalize the regret, and to apologize. Tradition holds our proverbial feet to the fire with the instruction that we need to be specific about the person, and our infraction, in order to have our apology ‘count’. (Sorry, posting a general apology on Facebook to a faceless population absolutely does … [Read more...]
I have a smile on my face.
Why? Because I just received a note from a wonderful local Jewish family who just joined Temple Emanu-El. “Hi Rabbi! We have received lovely and generous emails and phone messages from many folks at Temple Emanu-El, thank you thank you all so much for welcoming us, very much looking forward to seeing and meeting and getting to know each of you!! My husband had a side conversation at work with someone, and found out that they also belong to Temple Emanu-El. We are excited about all the new and terrific things happening, have a good week!” To their delight, since they joined TE last week, they have discovered that they have many friends who are already members here. Their motivation for joining us as new members was so that they could live a deeper, more beautiful, and more meaningful life through their Judaism. Temple Emanu-El is their avenue, and we are thrilled to welcome them! As you know, new members are vitally important to the energy and health of our … [Read more...]
Ok, I’ll say it: I love summer!
I love the weather, being out in nature, and the fact that it gets dark so late. I treasure being able to step back a bit from the hard pace of the year, rediscover passions, and strengthen friendships. I appreciate the chance to return to a true sense of self. But what I cherish most is the chance to reconnect to my family. Most years, when our kids get out of school, we take a family trip. Some years this means loading up the car and experiencing parts of America, other years we manage to journey abroad. In this time we bond in a way that is easily identifiable as profound, and perhaps even ‘holy’. Not that its ever easy (or quiet) to suddenly march to the same tune, all at the same time, on the same schedule. Personal space becomes a joke. It can get…intense. But gradually, and gladly, we begin to groove. And this unified rhythm sets the pace for us in a way that seems to sustain us for the rest of the year. Afterwards, we borrow what we have gleaned on … [Read more...]
Rabbi, What’s in a Challah?
We have our basic ingredients: flour, eggs, yeast, water, oil, sugar, and salt. We can even add chocolate chips, raisins, sprinkles, or food coloring — the options are limitless. But there’s more to a challah than her ingredients. There’s time: the time it takes to mix the ingredients, for the yeast to rise, and to knead the dough. There’s the time it takes to let the dough rise, and there’s the time it takes to braid the dough into a beautiful pattern. There’s the time it takes to bake the challah, and then, there’s everyone’s favorite part, the time it takes to eat the challah! More than time, there are the hands it takes to crack the eggs, the eyes it takes to measure the ingredients, and the taste buds it takes to decide whether or not we made a good batch. More than the senses, there is a spirituality to the challah. We’re making the challah for someone: for ourselves, for our family, or our friends. We’re thinking about who we have made challah with or cooked with in … [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...]
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