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Judaism and Religion

Kol Nidrei is NOT About Promises (5776)

Kol Nidrei.

Tonight’s service is named for this prayer that we heard toward the beginning of our service. Kol Nidrei is so powerful, so important, so meaningful – that we stand during its threefold recitation. In fact, it is only during the singing of Kol Nidrei that we take all of our Torahs scrolls out of the ark and stand before their holy words, messages and inspirations. You may not know the name of Moses’ wife, you may not know the difference between the Mishna and the Talmud, but I bet that you can hum the beginning of the haunting melody of Kol Nidrei.

Sep 22, 2015
Judaism and Religion

Sometimes, Being Perfect is not Good Enough (5776)

I’ve always wanted to be on Jeopardy.

I love everything about it – its competitive spirit, the display of lightning like intellectual and physical reflexes that recall all matters of intellectual ephemera, and the sometimes witty banter between contestants and Alex Trebek.

Several friends of mine have applied to be contestants. One, a reform rabbi in New York City, even made it on earlier this year. I’ve learned that if you completely ace the tryout questions, you will most likely not be asked to continue to the next steps of the tryout process. In other words, if you are perfect, you’re not good enough.

Sep 14, 2015
Judaism and Religion

Rosh Hashanah is not a Period at the end of the Year; It’s a Semi-colon (5776)

High School. First kiss. Graduation. College. First job. Marriage. Yesteryear. The good ole days. 

Nostalgia is a booming business.

In recent years, social media has popularized what has come to be known as ‘tbt’ – throwback Thursday. On Thursdays, it takes one quick glance on Facebook to see pictures of friends with that crazy hair from high school, or a gorgeous wedding portrait from over 40 years ago. We use our present technologies to go back to the past. Apps, services and Web sites try and tap into our yearnings for yesterday.

There’s a bad joke incoming, but nostalgia is just not what it used to be.

Sep 13, 2015
Judaism and Religion

When Will God Appear? (Vaera)

The past week has been a difficult one. In the span of a few days, terrorists killed 17 people in France. The four Jewish citizens at the kosher grocery store were buried in Israel for fear that their graves would be desecrated, yet another fearful sign of Europe’s growing anti-semitism. In Nigeria, two *thousand* people were killed because of hatred, and intolerance, a fact even more bothersome because it’s quite possible that many of you are hearing that for the first time right now. The world is in mourning.

Jan 16, 2015
Judaism and Religion

What is the Right Way to Spell Hannukah?!

So how do you spell Hannukah?

There actually is a correct way: Chet, nun, vav, kaf, hey. But in English, there’s disagreement. Some prefer to spell it phonetically, starting it with a “ch.” Some, like myself, like the simplicity of a sole “h” to begin the name. But there are so many variations even beyond that; One or two n’s? Do you use a solo “k” or do you need a “ck” combinationt? And how do we end the English nomenclature of our Festival of Lights? With an a? an ah? A friend told me that she learned that you can spell it any way you want so long as the word has 8 letters.

Dec 20, 2014