Banana Muffins
What Can We Learn From the Juxtaposition of Joy and Sorrow?
Several times during the year, the Jewish calendar places joyous and challenging holidays near each other. What lessons we take from this juxtaposition?
Creating Successful Tot Shabbats: How We Did It
Tot Shabbat was always part of our synagogue programming, but often ended with kids running laps in the sanctuary. Our clergy team strived for something better.
Cold: Prayer for a Chilly Shabbat
Snow days can be fun; not so this kind of cold. It was colder in Chicago this week than it was in the North Pole.
This Shabbat, We Remember Those Lives Lost to Gun Violence
This Shabbat, we say Mourner's Kaddish for all those lives lost to gun violence thus far in 2018.
A Jewish Response to Political Scandal
As we witness public figures dismantled by the revelation of ugly episodes from their pasts, we parents must distill these events and their aftermath for our children.
Everything You Need to Know About Shabbat Services
Can We Have a Relationship with God?
In Ki Tisa, Moses, begs God to let him understand the Divine. And yet, we see Moses as having more access to God than any other man. If Moses cannot comprehend God, how can we hope to understand God’s ways?
Too Much of a Good Thing?
In Vayak’heil/P’kudei, the people bring so many contributions to build the Tabernacle that Moses turns some of the gifts away. Is it ever right to limit contributions that are gifts from the heart?
The Challenge of Holding God Close While Keeping Fear at Bay
The poet Yehuda Amichai writes: I don’t want an invisible god... I want a god who is seen... , so I can lead him around and tell him what he doesn’t see… ... In this week’s portion, Ki Tisa, we reconnect with this unfinished storyline at the beginning of Exodus 32. While Moses tarries atop Mount Sinai, the people down below are losing their patience: