February is quite a famous month. Known for its celebration of love or, for some St. Valentine, it is also well known for the following holidays: Click on the highlighted words to learn more: Sometimes Super Bowl Sunday (Next year February 3rd 2019 in Atlanta, Ga- so mark your calendars football fans!), Paul Bunyan Day, Indianapolis/Daytona 500, Mardi Gras, LEAP Year, The Westminster Dog Show, The Kwakiutl Midwinter Ceremony, Groundhog Day, President’s Day, and the biggest night of the year for Hollywood (and all celebrity, movie and haute couture fans) The Academy Awards. It is not a surprise that in recent years, Judaism has chosen this very special month celebrating love in all forms and fashion to elevate Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion. For short, J.D.A.I.M. This special month is now in its tenth year, and marks a time when Jewish communities come together to raise awareness and advocacy for those with different abilities. Here in Atlanta, The Jewish Abilities … [Read more...]
Volunteers-A Source of Inspiration
This Friday night is Temple Emanu-El’s “Volunteer Shabbat” where we, as a community, get to do something profound. We allow ourselves to be inspired. This is no small thing, as you know, for many of us are thirsty for inspiration to live more meaningful lives; and delight when we find inspiration, for it propels us higher out of our everyday routine. Traditionally, Judaism lionizes those who volunteer their time helping those in need, and for the common good. Why? Volunteering your time is more than giving of your treasure, it is a giving of ‘self’ it is a giving of your ‘time’ and it is a giving of your ‘heart’ all precious resources which, once given, can never be regained. When I am asked what makes Temple Emanu-El different from other congregations, one of the answers that I am proud to report is that we have a very high percentage (around 35%!...relative to other temples, this number is hugely impressive) of adult congregants who actively volunteer … [Read more...]
The Jewels of Sacred Time Together
This last week my family and I drove the California coast, starting in Los Angeles, up through Big Sur, and finally to San Francisco. Aside from seeing friends and the incredible coastline, our time together as a family was the revitalization that we had thirsted for. Life gets busy with work and school. We make efforts to have dinner together as a family, and Shabbat is our respite, but these are jewels of time valued because they are rare in the day. What a change, and a blessing, to be able to have days on end together, sleeping in the same space, getting back in tune with our familial rhythm. This is not to say that every moment was idyllic, of course it was not, but with each rising sun we became more in synch. What was especially great is that our children are now old enough to get a hint of what Marita and I know: the point is not Los Angeles, Big Sur or San Francisco. The point is not about a beach, or a vista, or a museum. The point is the time that we get to … [Read more...]
Pause a moment and consider who “YOU will be”
The darkness of winter, complete with blistery winds and negative temperatures that correspond with this secular New Year (at least in the northern hemisphere) seems to give rise to thoughts of our own mortality. A year fades away; a new one is born. A part of us dies, and a part of us becomes born anew. We are ushered into becoming our “new selves” as speedily as we might ski or sled down a hill or snowbank. As we move quicker towards the bottom, we become laden with slogans of self-renewal: “Lose weight! Get healthy! Exercise! Spend more time with family! Declutter your digital clutter!” -we are on a re-creation roller-coaster. Let’s put that roller-coaster on pause and reflect for a moment. What ending are we coming from? What new beginning are we heading toward? Last weekend we completed the story of Genesis; a book fraught with the creation of our planet, humankind and the family dysfunction that comes along with our existence. The opening verses of Genesis point to God’s … [Read more...]
Rabbi, why is 18 a “lucky” number in Judaism?
I have to say, the number 18 was never my “lucky” number as a kid. Probably like many of you, I based my lucky number on my favorite athlete’s jersey. For me, it was soccer star, Christine Lily’s, #13, but perhaps you always went for Michael Jordan’s #23. In mystical Judaism, numbers and letters have a special relationship that gives certain numbers, like 18, a unique standing in the Jewish community. In the Jewish tradition of Gematria, the letters of the Aleph-Bet correspond to numbers: Aleph is 1, Bet is 2…Yud is 10, Yud-Aleph is 11, etc.. To get to the number 18, we add together the Chet (8) and the Yud (10), and what does that spell? — חי chai, meaning “alive.” Phrases like l’chaim, לחיים “to life,” ring out during celebrations and joyous gatherings. Perhaps you shouted a hardy “L’chaim!” as the clock struck midnight and we entered the year 2018 (20חי). We are constantly wishing each other a long life of health and prosperity, all of which our tradition likes to put on this … [Read more...]