Ahavah/Love by Steve Menaker
There are times when you step back from an experience, a moment, a challenge. You can be struck by many emotions, but one that strikes me is love. Sometimes love is hard, other times, it is easy – but more than all else, love is enduring. As Polly and I spent time with our two […]
Sometimes, the Person Who Most Needs My Love is Me by Rachel Campbell
I have a blessed life. I have a wonderful and supportive family, a secure job, a great dog, a comfortable home, sweet friends and a terrific husband. So why, then, in recent months, have I been so frequently overcome by sadness? This was a question I asked myself day after day after day. I have […]
Ahavah/Love by Frances Liss
Webster’s definition of Love is: “a deep and tender feeling of fondness and devotion, such as a parent’s love for their child.” And this is where it begins, with the birth of my children. Because of the love that I felt for them, I wanted to share the love I had for Judaism, the beautiful […]
Ahavah/Love by Rabbi Ana Bonnheim
It doesn’t seem like it would be intuitively true, but love features prominently in Jewish tradition. There are different kinds of love, all with the same Hebrew root (aleph, hey, bet, or ahavah). There is God’s love for Israel, the love we are commanded to feel for God, romantic love for a partner, love for […]
Ahavah/Love by Amanda Zaidman
I love Judaism. It has grounded my family in traditions that make us feel like we are a part of something bigger, part of a history steeped in knowledge and beauty. Being Jewish was a choice for me and it has shaped my adult life. It has made me strong in ways I never expected […]
We Begin Elul with Love by Rabbi Asher Knight
This week we enter the Jewish month of Elul, the four weeks preceding the High Holy Days. For millennia, our rabbis have taught that the word, Elul (aleph-lamed-vuv-lamed), is an acronym for the famous verse of love poetry from the Song of Songs: Ani L’dodi v’dodi li, “I am my beloved and my beloved is […]
We are the Light by Dr. Laura Bernstein, Executive Director
In the words of Rabbi Jonah Pesner, Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, “The Torah teaches that God created a world capable of chaos and order. While this can sometimes create moments of despair, it is also the basis for all hope, all light in the darkness.” In our staff meeting this […]
Prayer is a Time Machine by Cantor Mary Rebecca Thomas
Cantor Jamie Marx is a classmate of Cantor Thomas. In advance of the upcoming release of his Jewish rock album, In Pursuit, Cantor Marx has organized a blog series that explores the intersection of rock music and prayer. He asked Cantor Thomas to write about prayer and Counting Crows, one of her favorite bands. Here […]
Tikkun Olam: Youth Experiences at TBE by Sam Swire, Director of Youth Engagement
In this week’s Torah portion Va’etchanan, Moses tells the Israelites that he will not be joining them in crossing the Jordan River into the land of Canaan. He summarizes the events that led up to this moment including the exodus from Egypt, the revelation of the Ten Commandments, and the B’rit or covenant between God […]
