Sermon given on Sunday, September 9 by Rabbi Eli Freedman HaYom Harat Olam; today is the birthday of the world. Tonight, Erev Rosh Hashanah, we begin the New Year of 5779. And tomorrow morning, in the words of the song we just sang: Let the sun rise, On a new...
I was on the phone with a friend last week after an especially long day watching Josephine and our new addition, Nora, all by myself. My friend asked, “So how was babysitting today?” “I was not babysitting,” I said, keeping my voice as gentle as possible to correct them. “When...
Earlier this summer, some high profile suicide deaths tragically reminded many of us of the critical, life-saving importance of mental health and mental health resources for this public health issue. This was the week the Jewish community read in the Torah from Parashat Shelach Lecha. The story in the Book...
This past Wednesday night, we had the unique opportunity to host Anat Hoffman, a civil rights pioneer in Israel. Through her organizations, Women of the Wall and the Israeli Religious Action Center, Hoffman works to protect the rights of women, Reform Jews, Arabs and other vulnerable populations. Hoffman does not...
In an intimate scene in parashat Ki Tisa, God says to Moses: “I will make all my goodness pass before you, and the grace that I grant and the compassion that I show; but you cannot see my face… See there is a place near Me. Station yourself on the...
Shabbat shalom! Today, I am grateful to gather—we who call God many different names, and we who choose not to call to God at all—I am grateful to gather together with you! This season, in our sacred text, the Jewish community reads the story of the Exodus from Egypt. Our...
As many of you know, I just returned from leading 18 teens to Israel along with our youth engagement coordinator, Jenn Reiss. On our first full day, after an amazing Israeli breakfast, we headed off to the Tel Dan Nature Reserve. As we started our hike we saw a sign...
Naomi Shemer, hailed as the “first lady of Israeli song and poetry” is perhaps most famous for her song “Yerushlayim Shel Zahav” (“Jerusalem of Gold”) written in 1967 and often called an unofficial second national anthem. Shemer wrote the song for the Israeli Song Festival held on 15 May 1967,...
Yesterday and today marked the 79th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the night of broken glass, when ordinary Germans demonized their Jewish neighbors and lashed out against them in violence and hate. Soon after, once Hitler had control over France, the Vichy government there sent a message to King Mohammed V of...
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