A Bat Mitzvah Teaching on Curses and Blessings
This past Shabbat we were treated to the celebration of Josie Chrismer becoming Bat Mitzvah. Josie’s Bat Mitzvah parashah portion was Ki Tavo, one of the final portions of the entire Torah. Ki Tavo means “when you enter” or “when you arrive,” the context of which is Moses advising the Israelites what rituals that she undertake when they enter the […]
What “Open House” Really Means
We’ve affixed the term “open house” to tonight’s celebration. I helped generate that label, but I have to ask the question, could there be a more generic term than “Open House?” Realtors use it when showing off a house for sale; private elementary and high schools use it when trying to drum up student enrollment; […]
The Dream-like Shabbat That Was
As I’ve said a number of times now in various contexts, this past Shabbat was, for me, a dream. Friday night was the return of TGIShabbat, and the inauguration of TGISHabbat as a weekly institution at SHS, from September through May each year, where each week we gather, through music, through song, through spirit, through teaching, through […]
A Bat Mitzvah’s Teaching on the Downstream Effects of Kashrut
This past Shabbat we celebrated the Bat Mitzvah ceremony of Claire Englander. Claire’s Torah portion falls in the Book of Devarim (Deuteronomy) where Moses is delivering his parting address to the Israelites as they get ready to cross over into the promised land. A central part of this address is a recapitulation of the laws the people […]
Faithfulness to Our Moments of Clarity • Nina’s Names
This past Shabbat we studied the weekly Torah portion from the Book of Devarim (Deuteronomy) in which Moses is delivering his extended farewell address to the Israelites as they stand at the precipice of the Promised Land, where he will not be joining them. As part of the farewell address, Moses reminds the people of the events […]