Response to the Tragic Fire in Philadelphia
The news out of another part of our community yesterday was wretched: twelve people dead, eight of whom were children, as a result of a fire in a house on the 800 block of North 23rd Street in the Fairmount neighborhood of Philadelphia, a mere couple of miles from our synagogue. What can one say […]
Finding a Middle Path to Forgiveness
This past week we celebrated Jonah’s Bar Mitzvah. What a joyous occasion it was. Jonah’s Torah portion was Miketz. Miketz means, at the end. Whether this is referring to the end of the two years that our ancestor Joseph spends in prison before he is released, or the end of the era of the Israelites living in Canaan […]
Remarks from Hanukkat Mezuzah — Building Dedication Ceremony
I’d also like to share with you the remarks I offered at our Hanukkat Mezuzah, our modest Building Dedication Ceremony on Sunday, in the hopes that they help lay out for us an intention as we occupy our newly revamped spaces, including the Paula Kline Learning Center: Mai Hanukkah. What is Hanukkah? That simple phrase is […]
Who’s Directing What?
This past week we studied Parashat Vayeshev, the Torah portion known as Vayeshev, which means “He [Jacob] dwelled.” The Torah portion begins with Jacob having settled down as the scene shifts to the lives of his twelve sons, most notably Joseph, to whom, as the eldest of his beloved wife Rachel, Jacob shows deep favoritism. Joseph […]
Breaking Up Time Is A Sacred Act
Happy Thanksgiving! Don’t worry (if you were): I’m not writing this email on Thanksgiving; I’m spending time with my family. That’s the beauty of the “schedule send” function that is now so common in email services. But this topic of creating space away from work relates to the remarks I delivered this past Shabbat that […]