615 N. Broad St. Philadelphia, PA 19123 | 215.627.6747
615 N. Broad St., Philadelphia, PA 19123 | 215.627.6747
Proud of last year’s Board resolution for Marriage Equality, Rodeph Shalom and Beth Ahavah (a historic GLBT congregation housed at RS) have been exploring advocacy opportunities to further civil rights and marriage equality (Save the date, Wednesday, June 5, 7:00 pm, when Ted Martin, exec. director of Equality Pennsylvania, is our guest speaker!). This week’s progress in the city council is something to celebrate!
Read more about the legislation and its impact here.
From Rabbi Kuhn
A recent study found that Philadelphia has the highest rate of “deep poverty” – people with incomes below half the poverty line – of any of the nations 10 most populous cities (Philadelphia Inquirer and Temple University Sociologist David Elesh analysis of the U.S. Census American Community survey, Inquirer article March 19, 2013). The study found that Philadelphia’s “deep poverty” rate (individuals living at half the poverty line of $5,700 per year – or a family of 4 of $11,700) is around 12.9%, or 200,000 people. As Jews, we should be troubled by these distressing statistics, and we should be moved to act to solve the problems of poverty and hunger.
Continue reading
By Rabbi Eli Freedman, sermon delivered erev Rosh Hashanah evening 2011
As many of you know, this summer I got married. Laurel and I decided to take a road-trip to and from our wedding in Texas. While leaving Asheville, NC and heading into the birthplace of Rabbi Bill Kuhn, I saw a large welcome sign. On that sign it read, “Tennessee: The Volunteer State.” I usually do not place much stock in state mottos. I come from the Bay State and now live in the Keystone state, neither of which names deeply resonates with me, however, for some reason I was struck by Tennessee: The Volunteer State. I assume it is because, as a synagogue community, we have been thinking a lot about what it means to be a part of congregation in recent months.
By Rabbi Jill Maderer, sermon delivered Yom Kippur Morning 2011
A boat filled with travelers sails in the ocean, when suddenly one passenger begins to drill a hole in the floor. His fellow passengers plead with him to stop, but the man says, “Mind your own business. This is my seat, and I can do whatever I want to the floor under it. Am I telling you what to do? No. So why don’t you leave me alone?”
by Carl Schneider, presented at 09/16/11 Shabbat service
I have lived comfortably in immediate communities that were significantly or overwhelmingly Jewish. My boyhood home was in the Wynnefield section of Philadelphia. It was so Jewish that I remember going to elementary school one day to find that there were no other students. The custodian told me that it was a teacher in-service day because it was a Jewish holiday and no kids were expected. I assure you it was not one of the High Holidays, or one of the other biggies like Passover, when even my non-observant parents knew to keep me home. I think the day in question was something like Lag B’Omer or Tu B’shevat. As a result, I have had very little personal experience with overt anti-Semitism Despite my comfortable surroundings, I have always felt that being Jewish separates me, as part of a small minority, from the larger society. Continue reading
Members of the Center City CSA (community supported agriculture) look forward to Thursdays when Farmer Phil comes and drops of fresh produce and cheese. Some of the produce we have received so far include swiss chard, kale, onions, peaches, blueberries, plums, lettuce, arugula, zucchini, cucumbers and chives- all organic and straight from the farm. Along with trying new vegetables, each participant volunteers to help with distributing the produce.
Members will have the opportunity to visit the farm where everything is grown and take a canning class to learn about preserving the fresh produce.
Check out more pictures at Rodeph Shalom’s facebook page.
Like the Center City CSA on Facebook.
Rachel Lerner’s Remarks: These have been some very eventful weeks when it comes to the Israeli Palestinian conflict, the future of a peace agreement and the U.S.-Israel relationship. I’d like to talk a bit about J Street – who we are, what we do and why we do it, and then I want to spend some time talking about some of the things that transpired over the past few weeks, what the challenges and opportunities are and where J Street comes into the mix. But first I want to spend a little time introducing myself, and my own involvement in J Street. I grew up in the Jewish community. In the Modern Orthodox community in Brooklyn, to be specific. I attended a Zionist Modern Orthodox day school through high school, and, like many of my classmates I spent my freshman year of college in Israel – not in a seminary like most of my friends, but at Bar Ilan University, where I was able to spend half my day studying torah and half my day earning college credits. Continue reading
The American Jewish World Service invites you to incorporate this reading into your Seder as you drink the first glass of wine.
On Passover, we celebrate our redemption from slavery and revel in our freedom: we gather around the Seder table with our loved ones, telling stories of our people’s miraculous passage from Egypt, to Sinai, to the Promised Land. At this time of rejoicing, we also remember the great responsibility that freedom creates: to harness the power of our privilege on behalf of the oppressed and marginalized.Continue reading
In honor of the news of 2 weeks ago, that the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy was finally overturned, I turn my thoughts to integrity. I’m not only speaking of the integrity of sexual identity, but that of spiritual wholeness—an integrity that should transcend gay-specific issues and be a message to us all. Continue reading
A recently heard a story about a group of campers by the side of a river. They saw a body floating by. They all ran into the water, pulled the person out, performed CPR and saved the person. As they were packing up their tents, they noticed another body. Again they jumped into the water, and rescued the man. As they were getting into their cars, they saw another body come floating by. As they were saving this person, one person turned to another and asked: Maybe we better get up-river and see if we can find the source of this problem!
Yes, we’re good at attaining short term goals, but we don’t worry about what comes later. Like the campers, we’re good in a crisis, at saving people as they float by. When we see pictures of hunger on the T.V. and destruction on the front pages of our newspapers and magazines, we react. At these moments we’re good at providing food to fill empty stomachs. However, we don’t often ask what is happening up the river. We aren’t so good when the pictures disappear. When the images are no longer in front of our eyes, we forget those that remain.
