Shabbat is Everywhere
I’ve always been taught that when the Jewish people read from the Torah, it is not a random passage.
Hey, That's Not Our Torah Scroll!
Recently at the regular Shabbat minyan at Temple Shaaray Tefila in New York City, we worshipers were thrown for a bit of a loop when, at the beginning of the Torah service, the rabbi took a scroll from the ark that was different than the one we
What Does Unplugging for Shabbat Look Like for You?
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about unplugging for Shabbat – and wondering what that would mean for many Reform and Conservative Jews. Most of us drive on Saturday, answer the phone, write, and turn lights on and off. What would it look like for us to “power down” over Shabbat?
The Power of Shabbat, Even Over the Loudspeaker
Even as structure and routine begin to crumble, ritual observances don’t stop for the virus. As did many generations of Jews before us, we must adapt ritual to this unprecedented way of life, and Shabbat services, a mainstay for nursing home residents, necessitated creative adaptation.
Shabbat as Alternate Time, Especially During the Pandemic
Friday’s sunset could be no different than Thursday’s, a time marker notching off another day or another week, but Shabbat requires us to mark a more substantial difference, Regularity is key to keep track of our lives between other Jewish times and when days blur into each other.
Lemmings Be Gone!
Recently, I sat with one of my congregants, a beautiful, smart, and funny 12-year-old girl who told me about the social challenges she is having in school. Likely because she is so beautiful, smart, and funny, some of the other "popular" girls in her class do not like her.