My name is Gary Hirschfeld and I am honored that you elected me as president of Beth Israel’s Board of Directors for the coming two years. I got hooked into volunteering and serving Beth Israel and have never wavered in my commitment to our community. I love this place! I
On April 26, 2017, the Bill & Sid Rubin Preschool had their ribbon cutting ceremony for the Little Free Library. Little Free Library is a nonprofit organization that inspires a love of reading, builds community, and sparks creativity by fostering neighborhood book exchanges around the world and the Bill & Sid
Presented by Howard Hian on April 8, 2017 – 12 Nissan 5777 Shabbat shalom. On the Saturday before Passover, in anticipation of celebrating our freedom from slavery, the Rabbis named today Shabbat Ha-gadol, the Great Sabbath. The haftarah, from Malachi speaks of the “great day” when Elijah reappears foreshadowing the coming
By Rabbi Michael Berk Several months ago a student asked me about the Jewish attitude towards refugees. With the Executive Order last Friday, that question is now an urgent one. We can look to a brief passage in our Scriptures to find an answer. The central story of the Israelites
December 31, 2016 / 2nd of Tevet, 5777 As I reach out my hand to grasp the meaning of this day, I can see my fingers curl around a multiplicity of ideas and memories: 1) today’s Torah reading of Genesis 41 (Miketz) in which Joseph interprets the Pharaoh’s dreams;
DECEMBER 1, 2016 // 1 KISLEV 5777 Last month, Women of the Wall marched toward the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest site, on Rosh Hodesh Heshvan, accompanied by Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President of the Union for Reform Judaism, and Rabbi Steven Wernick, President of the North American Conservative Movement, and hundreds
By Yvonne Lazar October 26, 2016 As the final step in a two year long search to discover my father’s family, I paid a visit to Cologne, Germany in May, 2016. I “stumbled” across a number of brass stones embedded in the streets of Cologne and learned that they are
Telling Our Story My first grade teacher Mrs. Kent, used to scare me by announcing sternly to our class: “Behave. If you don’t, it will go on your permanent record.” Did you have a teacher or parent who said that to you? I believed her. I believed there was a
Presented by Joe Nalven 10/8/16 Last year I gave a dvar on Shabbat Shuva. The path I will take today goes in a different direction. Last year, I picked up the themes of Moses not being able to enter Israel, his struggle with envy over Joshua’s emerging relationship with God, and
For Awe Intensive Purposes Rosh Hashanah 5777 According to our tradition, Rosh Hashanah has several names. Rosh Hashanah is part of what we call Yamim Nora’im – the Days of Awe. And yet, tonight some of us in this sanctuary sit with heavy hearts and awe is nowhere in sight.
