I think my favorite part of the Purim carnival at the Bayonne JCC when I was growing up was the “shave the balloon” booth. The shaving cream was always so foamy, you got just a little bit messy, and someone always did end up popping the balloon. As a parent, watching my own kids and […]

Quite a few years ago, I remember a fruit and vegetable marketing campaign that had the local grocery stores covered in signs that said “Strive for Five,” Hanging from the ceiling: “Strive for Five”, on the refrigerator where they keep the lettuce: “Strive for Five,” over by the bulk bins: “Strive for Five.” As you […]

Last week at a conference out of town, surrounded for two days by old friends and colleagues, I was plagued by three small words: “How are you?” Over and over again the question came. And over and over again, I dodged it. But halfway through the conference, I misread the intent behind the question and […]

Like many in the early 90s, I learned the section of Torah that I read at my Bat Mitzvah from a tape that my childhood rabbi recorded for me. I remember carefully rewinding the tape with a pencil when the ribbon got a little out of whack and hoping that it would still work. How […]

It’s time to register for our High Holy Day (HHD) choirs! I hope that you will lend your spirit and your voice to make our High Holy Day services beautiful and meaningful for all. Adult Choir is for any adult or experienced 11th/12th graders who are willing to make a weekly rehearsal commitment beginning in […]

Last Friday, the rabbis and I had the privilege of welcoming six beautiful souls to the Jewish people as they reached the conclusion of their conversion process. Each completed their own journey, some over the course of decades, to affirm their Jewish identity. There are another six or so who will also convert in mid-July. […]

Home. Take a moment and imagine home. Not the home you live in right now or even the home you might dream of for the future, but – home – your childhood home. Where would you sit again, if you could choose one spot? What color are the walls? What does it smell like? What […]

Chanukah rolled around about halfway through my year living in Jerusalem while a student at Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion, the Reform movement’s seminary. That year in Jerusalem, I would walk about 20 minutes from my apartment to school every day. One morning, as Chanukah approached, my brisk walks were unexpectedly scented […]

A few months ago, in the course of conversation with our summer intern, Student Rabbi Hannah Elkin, she mentioned that her Clinical Pastoral Education supervisor taught her that a preacher must always “preach from their scars, but not their wounds.” I stopped her, “wait, say that again?” “You must preach from your scars, and not […]