New Study Guides, Books, and Musical Resources Among Reform Movement Offerings for the High Holy Days
A wealth of books, music, and on-line articles are now available to help families through the flurry of getting ready for the High Holy Days season.
The Syrian Refugee Crisis: We’re Doing What Our Beliefs and Values Tell Us to Do
On Rosh HaShanah, I asked our congregation this question: “Who do we want to be in this new year?”
Canadian Jewish Community Welcomes the Country's First Syrian Refugees
Similar to governmental leadership on this issue, the Jewish community in Canada has taken great strides in their response to this crisis.
How to Bring Judaism’s Strength of Spirit to All
I will give them in My house and in My walls a place and a name, better than sons and daughters; an everlasting name I will give him, which will not be discontinued.
Isaiah 56:5
A New Approach to Camp Recruitment
Our younger youth look up to their older siblings wearing camp t-shirts at the congregational “Camp Shabbat” and wonder – what’s this all about? Learn how one congregation designed an integrated program that gets the kids writing letters home during the school year.
The Synagogue President: Unsung Hero of American Judaism
Anyone who has been a synagogue member or professional knows that the synagogue president is the unsung hero of Judaism in America. The synagogue president, often by personal nature and always by congregational legislation, is the number one volunteer at a synagogue, performing work that often borders on being a full-time, albeit unpaid, job. The president is charged with vast governance, management, and financial powers. Partnering with the clergy, overseeing the business operations of the synagogue, presiding over the governance of the congregation, and serving as the chief financial officer and revenue generator is just the tip of the iceberg of a modern synagogue president’s responsibilities.
Beyond the Noise
The Revelation on Mt. Sinai . . . the giving of the Ten Commandments . . . our Torah portion, Yitro, describes the scene with great fanfare. The text has given cinematographers plenty of good material: thunder and lightning, smoke rising up into the sky, the whole mountain shaking violently, and the loud blaring of a horn, sometimes specifically called a shofar. Miraculous? Inspiring? Awesome? Yes, our Sages teach, but it was also really, really noisy.
When the medieval rabbis read about Sinai, they focus our attention on that seemingly unimportant detail of just how loud it all must have been. One medieval commentator, the French rabbi known as Rashbam, teaches that the description of God answering Moses "in thunder" is really a metaphor about the volume of God's voice—God had to shout to be heard over all of the other noise at Sinai! (see Rashbam on Exodus 19:19). And God was shouting for good reason. "The blast [of the shofar] was louder than any sound that had ever been heard before," Rashbam's contemporary, the Spanish sage Ibn Ezra writes on Exodus 19:16.
JDAIM 2016: Finding the Hidden Holiness in Our Communities
As Jews, we know all people are created in the image of God, but seeing that Divine presence doesn’t happen simply because we wish it to be so. It takes intentionality to view each person, regardless of his or her differences, as unique and holy.
The New Social Network that Can Enrich Your Congregational Toolkit
Our congregations are sacred communities comprising groups of people who connect to each other through a common set of beliefs and interests. These commonalties enable us to create communities, build temples, and share our Jewish traditions and culture through the generations.