Hiddur Mitzvah: Color and Spice–and Everything Nice The extensive descriptions of the sanctuary in the Tanakh (the Jewish Bible),[1] and the descriptions of the appointment of the priests and their vestments is filled with color, artistic skill, and an emphasis on beauty. The ancient Sages spoke of hiddur mitzvah,[2]...
Rabbi J.B. Sacks, teaches about the Conservative Jewish movement's history and views on Abortion. Abortion is allowed in Judaism, to protect the physical or emotional health of the mother. Watch and learn.
From the Rabbi’s Study The Passion in Compassion As a member of the President’s Commission on the Holocaust, Cantor Isaac Goodfriend[1] joined his colleagues in a tour of a number of concentration camps and other sites. During the tour he visited the Polish farmer who had hidden him and...
Inclusion is a strong Jewish value and yet it has often been a challenge to put into practice. We are all welcoming but in what ways do we welcome others? In this intriguing presentation we will hear about how Judaism welcomes and embraces all Jews, including the LGBTQ community, people...
From Our Rabbinic Intern’s Desk The Changing Focus of Passover in Our Day: From Pandemic to Ukraine Another year has come and gone, and Passover/Pesach will soon be upon us once again. Nisan, the month of Passover, and not Tishrei, the month of Rosh HaShanah, is referred to in the...
From the Rabbi’s Study Let’s Place Our Bets Carefully The man sitting on the park bench facing the synagogue was a picture of dejection. His shabby clothes looked as if he had slept in them, and his tired face was covered by a heavy growth. Overcome by pity for...
From the Rabbi’s Study Taking a Look at Ourselves The story is told about a gung-ho drill sergeant who always demanded the highest and best from his soldiers. One day he stared in pained disbelief at a sloppy squad of new recruits wearing their uniforms for the first time. For...
From the Rabbi’s Study Cleaning Our Temple from the Idols We Worship Two seasoned sailors heard the chaplain preach on the Ten Commandments. When the sermon was over, one sailor muttered to his friend, “Well, at least I never made any graven images.” That sailor, like most of us, looked...
From the Rabbi’s Study Indispensable in Our Small Parts Humans seem to have evolved from common ancestors. Scientist point to homo habilus.“handy man,” and others that are part of the homo grouping, known for their brain size and structure, and their use of tools. Homo habilus existed between 1.4 million...
Due to the global pandemic, the Jewish values of piku’ach nefesh, saving endangered lives, and sh’mirat hanefesh, protecting our own lives, rightly predominated. As a result, we’ve held services and classes on Zoom. As it turned out, Zoom was quite a blessing, enabling us to meet with one another, to...
