Shanah Tovah U’Metukah from Rabbi Knight
There is a legend about a man named Yameel, the swiftest runner and most reliable messenger in all of Africa. One day, a village elder found Yameel standing motionless in the middle of a path. The leader asked, “Why have you stopped in the middle of your mission?” Yameel answered, “I have been running so […]
Community Begins with a Warm Welcome by Holly Levinson
Abraham and Sarah were welcoming people. Abraham’s tent opened on four sides to welcome travelers from all directions. Abraham did not wait for strangers to approach, he rushed out and greeted them. Sarah’s tent was equally welcoming, with its doors wide open. In fact, the Shechinah, the Divine Presence that seeks to dwell among us, […]
A Community of Legos by Andy Siegel
We are all legos. Each of us unique in design, filled with color and infinite potential. One lego is cool. Two legos makes a combination. More and more legos, and you have a collection. A community. Like a lego community, our congregation is a collection of individual parts, strong members that are all valuable, especially when […]
Community Equals Connectedness by Ann Baumgarten
It was a hard decision to leave one community for another. The place where our sons were born and raised, the place where we had great jobs and friends, the place of our Jewish Community. We’re not risk takers, and don’t take decisions lightly. We tend to stay where we’re planted. But, we decided. To […]
Shared Stories Build Community by Emily Zimmern
On a recent Sunday I experienced a remarkable example of the power of stories to build community. As members of the Temple’s community organizing team, we were asked by a trainer from the Boston-based Jewish Organizing Institute and Network to answer in one minute the following question: Why are you here today? In powerful brief […]
Kehilah/Community by Harrison Lord
“You know the Jews – they all stick together.” A potential client told me that when I first started practicing law. At the time, it struck me as slightly paranoid (it happened that the business associates on the other side of his dispute were Jewish, though there didn’t appear to be any connection), if not […]
You’re All My People by Jennifer Sawyer
I recently had the opportunity, thanks to TBE and PJ Library, to attend NewCAJE, an amazing national conference for Jewish Educators held this year in California. For six days I was immersed in Jewish culture. I attended Shabbat services where Sephardic melodies made me long for Israel. I participated in Torah study and workshops and […]
Elul Reflection on Community by Rabbi Dusty Klass
As we enter the final week of Elul, we move into our final topic of reflection, Kehilah: Community. Writing about community was such a popular choice for our bloggers that we had more blogs than days of the week, and had to stop offering it as an option! Reading their words, you will find it […]
Kehilah/Community: Kelly, just “y” by Matt Kelly
I hate to say it, but the time I first felt truly a part of the community was at a committee meeting. Not at a service, not performing some great mitzvah. Just an introduction. After I joined the Jewish community I wore a kippah daily for almost ten years. Personal reasons. I certainly wasn’t doing […]
