On the streets of Paris over the past few weeks, I have been studying different vestments: bright red stockings with matching heels, an orange overcoat with navy beret and boots, above-the-ankle ripped jeans topped casually with silk or cashmere. And that’s without mentioning the accessories and the perfumes! It may not be Fashion Week, but I am nonetheless surrounded by the trappings of...Read more...
Our Torah portion this Shabbat, Vayakhel, demands that we remove the masks and costumes of Purim as it were, centering as it does on being in authentic relationship to place and to each other. It describes the final stages of building and decorating the desert mishkan, the sanctuary in which the Israelites would gather so that God’s presence might dwell among them. In so doing, the hope was that they...Read more...
Some of you have heard me quote the keenly missed HBO series “Six Feet Under” before. It hardly matters that the last episode aired nearly twenty years ago! For those of us who loved it, its explorations of love and loss, racial and sexual identity, redemption and growth, missed opportunities and fulfillment feel, well… timeless.
There is one scene in particular that will...Read more...
As many of you know, the holiday of Purim falls in just under a week. Purim tells the story of the Jewish community of Persia in the time between the two Temples in Jerusalem – of their near annihilation, and the people and circumstances that saved them. In the spirit of getting us ready to celebrate (at services Friday March 14 and Religious School March...Read more...
The summer I was thirteen, my mother took us all to a reunion of her side of the family in Lake Luzerne, NY. Excited as I was, I also felt a bit apprehensive. Who were these people exactly? What if we had nothing in common? What if this reunion turned out to be three days of awkward and boring… one of the worst combinations I could imagine.
After the initial introductions, things ceased to be...Read more...
In place of our usual Shabbat-to-Shabbat column, we have collected loving reflections about Rabbi Micah Ellenson and his time at Temple Beth David. We hope they bring you comfort and inspiration. May his memory be for a blessing.
Rabbi Micah was one of a kind - he was a caring and insightful Rabbi and an amazing friend. He taught me to be a more open-minded, accepting, and introspective person. In...Read more...
Towards the end of the book of Genesis, as the time of Joseph’s death draws near, he extracts an important promise from his brothers. Joseph asks that they, or their descendants, carry his body with them, up into the land that was promised to their forefathers… whenever that day should arrive. While his father Jacob had asked that he be laid to rest with those who brought him forth, Joseph, whose...Read more...
As many of you know, tonight is “Scout Shabbat.” So in addition to TBD members and guests, we’ll welcome area scouts (some from our congregation) and their leaders to learn more about the adventures, values and learning that scouting promotes. We’re also delighted that Larry Levine will be accompanying the service on guitar. Looking forward to seeing you here at 7:00pm!
In life, as in literature, it can feel like we are involved in an epic battle between good and evil, right and wrong, yetzer tov and yetzer hara. In between these two extremes, of course, exists the quotidian: getting our kids off to school, caring for a loved one, paying bills, and filing our taxes… But the moments that shape us most, in my experience, are the ones that are the most...Read more...
Lately, I’ve been thinking about patterns. Not visual or tactile patterns – the kind that we see on wallpaper, on tablecloths or in the design of our clothing. The patterns on my mind are the ones that are less concrete; invisible in fact to the naked eye. They pervade our day to day lives, and they have a great deal to do with how we function within them. Do you ever procrastinate, for...Read more...
