Spirituality – Page 7 – Rodeph Shalom

What Matters Most to You?: Growing into Spiritual Conversation

Judging by my conversations with many of you, this has been the movie-going season. Have you seen a movie in the last few weeks? The Wolf of Wall Street? Saving Mr. Banks? Continue reading

The Burning Bush: The Fire Within

In his D’var Torah last Shabbat, Rabbi Kuhn challenged us to wrestle with the question: what is my purpose?

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

Building for Profound Connections

An architectural rendering of a planned expansion of Congregation Rodeph Shalom. Here, the expansion as viewed from Broad Street. (handout photo)

Legacy renovation and expansion begins next month! Visionary design ensures this is not just beautiful square footage; it is values-driven space that will enable us to further our vision: to create profound connections.

(architectural rendering by KieranTimberlake, as viewed from Broad Street)

Read more in today’s Philadelphia Inquirer.

Bugs in My Kale: Bringing Intention to Our Tabletop

How are we connected to the food we eat? Imagine a movement that links consumption and production, shoppers and workers, in Professor Bryant Simon’s discussion: The Dinner Party, this Sunday 10/13, 10:15am at RS. (A part of the What is Your Food Worth partnership with the Feinstein Center). Below is another reflection on the connection from a D’var Torah last Shabbat:

Week after week I bring home my box of CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) vegetables. Recently, I was putting my veggies away in the refrigerator, and planning my strategies for getting my family to eat so many vegetables in just one week. Kale?: kale chips, kale pie, kale soup. Red, green and purple peppers?: the blindfold-guess-the-color-of-the pepper taste test game.

As I was planning, and storing the vegetables in my kitchen, I noticed a lot of bugs crawling on my vegetables. Continue reading

Choosing Life, Blessing and Joy

Reading Nitzavim on Yom Kippur

by 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

It almost reads like a riddle: Q: If you fast once Yom Kippur begins, and the candlelighting at the dinner before Kol Nidre brings in the start of the Holy Day, then how do you light candles and then eat dinner? A: On Yom Kippur, you light the candles at the END of the dinner! To enrich your holiday with this and many other Yom Kippur customs, visit, reformjudaism.org. And challenge yourself to discover deeper meaning in the customs this year. See you at services!

Crisis in Syria: A Tzedakah Opportunity

No matter your position about the U.S. response to Syria’s atrocities, we share empathy for the devastation human beings are facing. In these Days of Awe, when we try to ease the suffering in the world through acts of tshuvah, tefillah and tzedakah–repentance, prayer and righteous giving–here is a way to give:

Jewish Coalition for Disaster Relief: Syrian Refugees in Jordan:

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.

My Taglit (Discovery)

by Emma Fiebach

In June of 2012, the day I graduated from Drexel University, I received the most prophetic gift from our Rabbi Emeritus, Rabbi Alan D. Fuchs and his wife Carol Fuchs, Oh the Places You’ll Go, by Dr. Seuss. I smiled at the novelty of the gift, having no imagination for what lay ahead of me in the months to come.

But let me rewind even more, to the year 2006 when I was nineteen when I stayed in a rehab facility for alcoholism to receive treatment.