Reflections from Morocco
07/08/2022 12:15:51 PM
Over the past week in Morocco, I have been piecing together a very wobbly understanding of the Jewish history in this country. I see signs of Jewish presence everywhere. In the first century Roman ruins of Volubilis, for example, one can see epitaphs engraved in Hebrew on ancient stones. There are synagogues...Read more...
The Gibor and the Talmid in All of Us
12/03/2021 11:51:35 AM
One of the icons the early Halutzim, pioneers of the state of Israel, adopted was the Maccabees. The Maccabees were the warriors of the Hanukkah story who stood up to the oppressive forces of the ancient Greeks. In the world of the early Zionists, dictated by the Holocaust and overt government-sanctioned anti-Semitism, the reclaiming of the heritage of the Maccabees was seen as a necessity. The Maccabees served as a symbol...Read more...
Women and Choice
11/11/2021 03:25:33 PM
Shabbat Shalom!
I hope everyone had a great week. Join me tonight as we continue our discussion of biblical values. Tonight, I will be discussing “What does the bible actually say about Gender?”. For the past few weeks we have discussed in this forum and for my sermons what the bible and Judaism have to say about abortion. One thing struck me and was...Read more...
Jewish Values and Personal Beliefs
11/05/2021 10:24:35 AM
Shabbat Shalom!
This past week I was invited to speak at the Methodist church at one of their Bible study groups. During my talk I explained that what they call “the Old Testament” and we call “the Hebrew “Bible” is not “the Jewish Bible” and their New Testament the “Christian Bible”. Rather the Hebrew Bible are our (Christians, Jews, and Muslims) shared stories and history. Judaism (with the...Read more...
Texas Abortion Law
10/29/2021 01:32:28 PM
Often times one of the hardest aspects of life is how fast it moves and how there just isn’t time for everything under the sun. Issues that affect us all arise and the craziness of life pushes those issues, sadly sometimes, to the back burner. However, the pushing back of the ability to address issues in the moment when they arise can also be a blessing. It allows us to rekindle a fire that might have waned in the time...Read more...
Continuing Education Opportunities
10/22/2021 11:22:44 AM
Dear TBD community,
I hope that you have had a wonderful week.
During our morning prayers we read the following:
These are the things which a person performs and enjoys their fruits in this world, while the principal remains for him or her in the World to Come: honoring one’s parents, bestowing kindness, arriving at the study hall early in the morning and evening, welcoming guests, visiting the sick, assisting...Read more...
Cheshvan, the Shabbat of the Year
10/05/2021 12:33:17 PM
Amanda Orgel Ferguson, a Temple president of Congregation B’nai Israel in Little Rock Arkansas, wrote an article for URJ.org about the significance of the month of Cheshvan (click here for the full article). Tishrei, the month which houses so many holidays, is followed by Cheshvan a month with no holidays save Shabbat. In the article she shares the following teaching from her Rabbi Bruce Block:
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Triennial Cycle
09/28/2021 02:59:31 PM
The Torah is long. It is also packed full of information. The Torah contains 5,888 (or 5,845 depending who you ask) Verses, 79,847 Hebrew words and 304,805 letters. Rabbi Akiba believed that each of these words and letters was vitally important and packed with meaning. Akiba believed the Torah came straight from the mouth of God. Since the Torah came from God he reasoned there could be no extra or superfluous words. He...Read more...
Being Able to Focus on the Good
09/21/2021 05:02:23 PM
Before we leave the high holidays behind us there's one final teaching that I'd like us to return to. On second day Rosh Hashanah I had asked Jodi Harris to deliver the sermon. She spoke about what would become our theme for Yom Kippur: acknowledging our shortcomings so that we might focus on the good in all of us.
While the English understanding of the soul is that it is one thing, the Jewish understanding is that the soul is...Read more...
Simone Biles and Self-Compassion
09/17/2021 11:50:56 AM
One day early in his journey in the wilderness of Sinai with the people of Israel, Moses was visited by his father-in-law, Jethro. When Jethro arrived, he saw a line miles long of the congregation of Israel waiting to meet with Moses to adjudicate cases of civil import. Jethro saw this and said to Moses, “No one person alone can take on all the problems of society. What you are doing is too much for one person. You are going to...Read more...
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