Ahhhhhhh. We can finally take a deep breath. The holidays are behind us. We came through them a little wiser, a little more introspective (and maybe a little heavier). In the rush of activity with the holidays, with all of the havoc it played on our schedules, we might not...
This has been a rough year for the Jewish people. After seeing something like this, it gives us pause to wonder what will become of the human race. It makes us worry for the world we will leave for our children and their children after them. There is a rabbinic...
Not “Goodbye” but “Be Seeing You” My dear Am HaYam Family, Our tradition teaches: kol hat-cha-lot kashot, “all beginnings are difficult.” This phrase has been something that many speakers, ancient and modern, religious or secular, have used. I myself have said it many times. But as I prepare to end...
Praying for the Peace of Jerusalem and Israel On Shabbat and holy days, our Sephardic and Mizrachi sisters and brothers recite Psalm 122, a late Psalm, in which holy day pilgrims in Jerusalem reflect on what it might have been like for pilgrims of prior eras to be in Jerusalem....
Dear Am HaYam family, I returned home last Sunday from a family simcha, and was under the weather. I am still recovering, but wanted to send you another note before Shabbat (It is Thursday, 10/19). I understand the Israel Solidarity Gathering that was hosted at Temple Beth Torah, and which...
Dear Am HaYam family, I wanted to follow-up my initial response to last Saturday’s brutal attacks on Israel. As you know the attacks came not only on Shabbat, but on the holy day of Sh’mini Atzeret and Simchat Torah. At the time of writing this (Wednesday evening) more than 1,200...
Dear Am HaYam Family: We have all been in agony since hearing the news of the coordinated Hamas terror attacks on Israel on the holy day of Sh’mini Atzeret/Simchat Torah. While we celebrated both days on Shabbat, for many Jews outside of Israel, the holy day period actually ended Sunday...
No, Too, Is an Answer A man slipped on the escalator and started sliding to the bottom. Halfway down he collided with a woman, knocking her over. Together the two continued to the bottom. When they reached the main floor, the woman, still rather dazed, continued to sit on the...
Every year on Yom Kippur we have two CAH members speak. For the first talk, Rabbi Sacks each year invites a member of the Congregation to speak about Am HaYam and how it has affected their life. This year’s personal talk was given by Neal Abramson. Neal Abramson is a...
by Maayan Lev As a child, Sukkot was a very big holiday in my family. In fact, it may have been the biggest holiday of the year for us. This is because we had dinner in the sukkah together every night, usually inviting a different family to join us each...
