Kosi Revaya. That’s a line from Psalm 23 which means “my cup runs over.” I would amend that to “our cup” this week, as the last of the Israeli hostages held in underground Hamas tunnels in deplorable conditions have finally been freed. To watch them reunite with their loved ones has been to truly witness that cup filling up and spilling over. These are families who fought for the return of their...Read more...
If I asked how many of you love to read, I imagine an overwhelming number of you would answer in the affirmative… enthusiastically so. I’ll ask instead: how many of you love to re-read?
Have I got a book club for us!
Picture it: we’d pick a novel, we’d meet … we’d discuss … and then for our next meeting there would be no need to process our next...Read more...
On January 26, 1988, a musical opened on Broadway that some of you may have heard of. The story centers around a tragic love triangle that takes place near the dawning of the 20th century in and underneath the Paris Opera House. There is the requisite drama and passion and unrequited love, as well as the small matter of a large, crashing chandelier. “The Phantom of the Opera” would go on to...Read more...
The year was 1986. My sister and I were visiting family in San Francisco. It was our first flight without our parents, and our first vacation as teenagers together. We were intoxicated by all of it – Chinatown, the Victorians up and down the hills. So many people outside enjoying the temperate...Read more...
L’Shana Tovah! What a joy it was to celebrate Rosh Hashanah together. May the coming year be one of gladness and growth, as we continue to search out the prayers, the melodies, the spirit and the new directions we need most.
As a famous proverb is fond of reminding us, it’s never too late. It’s never too...Read more...
I began this series of reflections on the month of Elul with words from liturgist and translator Marcia Falk. It seems only appropriate to end with her words as well. The closing of Elul is upon us, and with it, Rosh Hashanah arrives and we begin once more.
“We enter the gates, grateful
for the blessing of renewal.
Let us bless the flow of life
that revives us,
sustains us,
and brings...Read more...
Today is the twelfth day of Elul, which means half of the month is nearly gone. On the other hand, half of it is still left. How will each of us use this sacred time for our High Holiday preparation?
Rabbi Alan Lew of blessed memory, a pioneer in the practice of Jewish meditation, reflects on the paradox of Ki Tetze, our Torah portion this week, which falls every year...Read more...
Today is the fifth day of the Hebrew month of Elul, which is the preparatory month just before Rosh Hashanah begins. And how do we make ourselves ready? We pay attention. We turn inward. We think about what we need to muster in order to face the new year with hope and commitment to things larger than ourselves.
There are so many Jewish sources to keep us company...Read more...
Our Torah portion this Shabbat, Re’eh, opens with God’s words to the Israelites: “See, this day I set before you blessing and curse. What follows is quite characteristic of Torah, promising Israel that if they stay true to their path, to their obligations, to what God asks of them, blessings will indeed be theirs. But (and you can probably guess what’s coming!) should they turn away from God’s...Read more...
