by Marsha Weinraub, presented at Sep. 2, 2011 Shabbat service

My profound moment happened right here, at RS. First, let me provide some context. I grew up a secular Jew in a Jewish neighborhood in Philadelphia. I trained at a Jewish University, and I became a member of a very Jewish profession. Yet, Judaism had no meaning for me. By the time I was 19 years old, I knew that there was no God. I had already figured out that the concept of God was a creation of human weakness in the face of the Great Unknown; I knew that God was an attempt to explain what could not yet be explained. Marx had called religion an opiate of the people. Clearly, this was not my drug of choice. Continue reading

by Ellen Kraftsow-Kogan, presented at July 8 Shabbat service

I could not think of a moment of God in my life, BUT, I could think of a profound moment, then realized that of course, it definitely is a moment about God’s presence in my life. My example occurred when I became a grandmother, but, please, stay “tuned in” even if this is not a pertinent example for you. It is only an example of how love can be a profound moment for each and every one of us, in diverse ways. Continue reading

Insipired by our congregation’s Visioning Initiative, the summer’s series of Shabbat evenings will focus on understanding profound moments.  On each Friday evening from July 1 through September 2, a story from the life of one of our congregants will serve as a thought-provoking start to a rabbi-led discussion about how meaningful, even spiritual moments work in our lives.  Each discussion will include the study of a Jewish thinker whose philosophy sheds light on real-life experiences of today. Continue reading

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V’Achalta, V’Savata, u’Verachata
You shall eat, you shall be satisfied and you shall bless God.
—Birkat HaMazon, the traditional Jewish blessing after the meal.

Jewish meals unite us—whether it’s a Passover Seder at home or a Shabbat dinner here at Rodeph Shalom. Food, rituals around food, distinctions about what’s “kosher” whether defined according to Jewish law or to other ethical standards, is a defining feature of our religion, tradition and culture.

So, when we sit down to eat what we serve and how we serve it matters. I believe that we should approach the daily act of feeding ourselves and our communities with the kind of sanctity, satisfaction and gratitude our tradition celebrates. And believe me, in the age of industrial agriculture and in our increasingly “flat world,” this is not as easy as it seems. We do our best to provide nutritious meals to our children, our families, and our seniors. And yet, when we hand over a Styrofoam plate heaped with steaming industrial processed red meat, slaughtered by underpaid laborers and stewed in tomatoes imported from who-knows-where, we can’t help but be nagged by the uncomfortable question, is this really “kosher?”

The word “kosher” means “fit” – and Jews have been evaluating what food is “fit” for them to eat for thousands of years. While traditional forms of keeping kosher (no pork, shellfish or milk and meat together) may be important to some, I see an opportunity to expand your consideration of what food is “fit” to eat based on how it was grown, where it was grown, and the effects of its production on the people who do the work and the land where it is produced. This new movement is often referred to as “eco-kashrut.”

Continue reading