Finding the Sacred Invitations within the Mistakes — a Teaching by our Bat Mitzvah
Returning to our practice of reflecting back on the Torah offered at this past week’s Shabbat services, we’re fortunate to be able to share the Torah offered by this past week’s Bat Mitzvah celebrant, Clara. Clara’s Torah portion was Noah, that foundational story that articulates the ebb and flow of humanity, which, according to the […]
Reflections on the Donkeys in Our Lives
This gives me the opportunity to reflect on the Bat Mitzvah celebration and teaching by our own Hannah Davidson. This past week’s parashah (Torah portion) was Balak. Balak was the name of the King of Moab, an ancient kingdom in present day Jordan, who encountered the Israelites as they marched through the wilderness on their way to the […]
Summing Up the Torah of Our B’nei Mitzvah
Each of the past two weeks we held meaningful, dynamic Bar Mitzvah services, first, two weeks ago on May 29, led by Jared Eizen, and then, last week on June 4, led by Ezra Goldenberg. Jared’s parashah was called Beha’alotekha, from the Book of Devarim (Numbers). Beha’alotkha literally means, “in your raising up,” referring to the instructions God gives the […]
A Powerful Teaching on the Earth from Our Bat Mitzvah
This past Shabbat we celebrated the Bat Mitzvah of Stella Wolson. Stella’s parashah (portion) was a double portion called Behar-Behukotai, the culminating portion of the third book of Torah, the Book of Vaykira, or, Leviticus. Stella’s parashah begins with, from our contemporary perspective, a radical set of land use laws. Now, lest you be concerned that Stella […]
A Teaching on Loving Thy Neighbor as Thyself from Our Bat Mitzvah
This past Shabbat, in the first Shabbat service held in our sanctuary in over a year, we celebrated the Bat Mitzvah ceremony of Sam G. It was the first of seven B’nei Mitzvah ceremonies we are celebrating at SHS over the course of the ten weeks. (Recall that last year we had to postpone several […]