Home by Andy Harkavy, Director of Congregational Engagement
Many people have numerous definitions for the word home. Over the years, I often asked myself, “Is home where I live or is it where I was born?” Home is defined as the place where one lives permanently. I have not lived in Atlanta since I graduated from high school in 2002. I have almost spent more years […]
Do A Mitzvah – Turn the World Around by Susan Jacobs, Director of Education
This Shabbat we will read the parsha, Chayei Sarah, the life of Sarah. The portion begins with Sarah’s life but focuses on her death and burial. What is amazing about Abraham and Sarah is how much they accomplished in their advanced years. Rabbi Stephen S Pearce, Ph.D, writes, “Chayei Sarah was written at a time […]
Democracy is Not a Spectator Sport by Rabbi Judy Schindler
When Jeremiah the prophet preached 2600 years ago, he enjoined his fellow Jews who were exiled to Babylon to get engaged with their community, “Seek the peace of the city to which I have caused you to be in exile…for in its shalom, you shall find shalom.” (Jeremiah 29:7) The word shalom is variously translated as […]
Words of Gratitude by Cantor Mary Rebecca Thomas
“I offer thanks to You, ever-living Sovereign, that You have restored my soul to me in mercy: How great is Your trust.” This translation of the Modeh Ani prayer begins each of the morning services in Mishkan T’filah, the Reform Movement’s 2007 prayer book. The very first words on our lips each day are meant […]
Family – There are All Kinds and I Seem to Need Them All by Candace Naliboff, Director of Member Services
When my husband and I moved to Charlotte over five years ago, we knew only our daughter…we were so happy because our little family was together again, but I needed more. I was born in Hendersonville…so coming home to North Carolina after all these years meant I had many cousins that I would get to […]
WE CAN ALL BE SHEPHERDS: WHAT MAKES A JEWISH LEADER? BY DR. LAURA BERNSTEIN
WE CAN ALL BE SHEPHERDS: WHAT MAKES A JEWISH LEADER? The Torah offers abundant lessons for leadership for today. As we turn the scroll through the opening chapters of Genesis and later into Exodus, we see how Noah, Abraham, and Moses each face the challenge of corruption in their day and respond in different ways. […]
Turn It and Turn It Again by Cantor Mary Rebecca Thomas
Chag Samei’ach and welcome to the last official day of the holiday season of 5778! We have made it up the mountain of Jewish time that transitions us each year from one to the next. We started this summer with Tisha B’av, the day of collective Jewish mourning. Then we went through the introspective month […]
Sukkot is a Time for Rebuilding by Rabbi Dusty Klass
There’s a Grey’s Anatomy episode in which the main character Meredith says something along the lines of, “when the world gets really terrible, I go down to the nursery and stare through the glass at the tiny new babies, just coming into the world.” I thought about that yesterday afternoon as I watched our religious […]
The Journey Through Grief – A Yom Kippur Yizkor Reflection by Rabbi Judy Schindler
Gmar chatimah tovah – may you each be sealed for a good year. It is great to come home to Temple Beth El. You are my family. Yom Kippur is about return and Yizkor is about return. This hour is about giving us time and space to return to our cherished memories of those we […]
