On the Shabbat of March 7 -March 8 was the National Day of Unplugging. Originally conceived by a group of Jewish artists, the day is meant to help us think differently about our re-chargeable devices in order to re-charge ourselves.Continue reading
One in Five Jews Say They Have No Religion: Applying Pew’s Lessons to the Future of Rodeph Shalom
How does Jacob find meaning? How do you find meaning in our Jewish community? And how about the person who is connected to no Jewish organization, but might be on a quest for meaning? How do we listen to what it is that person seeks?Continue reading
Doing and Understanding the Meaning of Our Lives
Delivered by Rabbi Bill Kuhn this past Shabbat.
I am glad to see that you’ve all survived the 3rd great blizzard of 2014. I am sure all of us were faced with challenges of some sort or another, but it is good to gather together here in this sacred and safe place to enjoy the warmth of the spirit of our congregational family.
I have always been amazed by what happens to people when faced with a common threat. During a big snowstorm, people will help each other. You may not even say hello to a neighbor normally, but during a snowstorm, you’re shoveling their walk and checking on them to see if they’re ok. TV stations suspend their regular programming to bring you live coverage of the snowstorm and to report on how people all over the region are faring. They show film of young strapping men getting out of their cars to lend a hand to a total stranger whose car is stuck in a snow bank. A common threat can transform us from competitive, closed uncaring people into kind, compassionate loving mensches.
I believe we feel this same phenomenon when we come here to share Shabbat services every Friday night. We do feel under a common threat. Not from a snowstorm, but from a spiritual storm – a life storm. Continue reading
What Matters Most to You?: Growing into Spiritual Conversation
The Burning Bush: The Fire Within
At the end of each book of Torah, there is a gap, a space. There is a legend that the white spaces in Torah are known as “white fire,” and the words of Torah are written in “black fire.” There is an extra amount of white fire between each book. So, last week we completed the study of the Book of Genesis, and tonight we begin anew with our study of the Book of Exodus. The extra space between Genesis and Exodus can represent a pause, a time for us to stop and think about our lives, and a chance to change, and to consider the meaning of our lives.Continue reading
Our Teenager Wrestling with Her Judaism
Check out our wonderful NFTY leader and youth-grouper, Audrey Fein’s D’var Torah! http://blogs.rj.org/nfty/2013/11/30/nfty-par-how-do-you-wrestle-with-your-judaism/
Support Group for Parents of Addicts and Alcoholics
Learn about our Caring Community’s support for people struggling with addiction and brokenness (congregants, or not; Jewish or not):
Support Group for Parents of Addicts and Alcoholics
*2nd and 4th Tuesdays starting on November 12 from 7-8:30pm
*Rodeph Shalom, parking available, enter on Mt. Vernon Street
Dear Community,
We are members of the Caron Parents Group; parents of children with drug and alcohol addictions and, often, co-occurring mental illness. These diseases affect their mental, physical, and emotional well-being. Their addiction and suffering has made us sick, too. How can a parent not be affected by the behaviors and trauma of an addicted child?Continue reading
Choosing Life, Blessing and Joy
Reading Nitzavim on Yom Kippurby Rabbi Sue Levi Elwell
“You stand this day, all of you, before your God, the Holy One of Blessing: you tribal heads, you elders, and you officials, all the men of Israel, you children, you women, even the stranger within your camp, from woodchopper to water drawer … ” (Deuteronomy 29)
The opening of Nitzavim grabs us by our lapels and looks each of us directly in the eye. All of you, each of you, whether you stand at the top or at the bottom of the food chain, whether you command the attention and admiration of many or whether your labor goes almost unnoticed, you stand this day, poised to enter into a relationship with God, a relationship that demands your full attention.Continue reading
Practicle Preparation for a Spiritual Yom Kippur
September is National Recovery Month
Some inspiration for National Recovery Month:
For anyone who would find strength in Jewish insights for a path of recovery, Rabbi Kerry Olitzky’s book Twelve Jewish Steps to Recovery: A Personal Guide to Turning from Alcoholism and Other Addictions.
Thank you to Emma Fiebach for “My Taglit (Discovery)” about her search for balance and spirituality in Alcoholics Anonymous and to Robert Fiebach for “The RS Caring Community Supports Recovery.”
And I share my recent Bulletin article: “Everyone’s Steps to Repentance.” Please contact me (rabbimaderer@rodephshalom.org) if you are a parent of someone struggling with addition and might be interested in participating in an upcoming parents’ support group.
Warm wishes for a sweet new year–Rabbi Jill Maderer
Everyone’s Steps to Repentance
You can picture the daily scene: A father yells in anger as his daughter comes home in the middle of the night, after hours of drinking. The entire household touched by her alcoholism, they begin to isolate from some friends, tell protective lies to other friends, and close down emotionally to one another.
