Or Ami Chorale Sings Cantor Doug Cotler’s Shalom Aleichem
Cantor Doug Cotler’s Shalom Aleichem as sung by the Or Ami Chorale.What a Beautiful Shabbat. Shalom Aleichem from Michael G. Kaplan on Vimeo .You may also follow this link . Read More »
-
Reform Movement Speaks Up as Komen De-funds Planned Parenthood
Recently, Susan G. Komen for the Cure announced it would cease all funding to Planned Parenthood Federation of America. I signed a letter asking the organization to reconsider and sharing my own disappointment and anger. This resulted from the most cynical gamesmanship and election year politics . Read More » -
My son Noah, 9th grader at New Community Jewish High School and avid NFTYite and Camp Newman alum,
My son Noah, 9th grader at New Community Jewish High School and avid NFTYite and Camp Newman alum, is guest blogging about his day with Dan Nichols: Wow, what a day.I started off doing homework so I cold devote my day to hanging with [Jewish singer] Dan Nichols. Read More »
-
“You All Are Going to Die,” Said the Rabbi to the 3rd-6th Graders. Appropriate or Not?
” You all are going to die !” said the rabbi to his 3rd thru 6th grade students. It was all part of a day of death and dying at Congregation Or Ami’s Mishpacha Learning session. Read More » -
What Does Being “Pro-Israel” Look Like: A Dozen or More Diverse Answers
Sometimes when we argue about heartfelt subjects, we discuss them with a sense of mutual respect and of eilu v’eilu divrei Elohim chayim (both of these opinions are for the sake of Heaven). At other times, when the stakes seem so high, we become convinced that our way is the right way, the blessed way, the only way. Read More » -
Thanks, Roe v. Wade: You Are One of the Best Things to Happen in my Life
Happy anniversary Roe v. Wade. You are one of the best things that happened in my life! Yes, today is the 39th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court ruling. On January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court said, in simple terms, that women have a constitutional right to privacy to make decisions about whether to have an abortion. Read More »
-
Andrew Adler Should be Arrested, Tried and Jailed
Late yesterday I came upon an article in Haaretz which described the controversy surrounding the editorial written by the owner and publisher of the Atlanta Jewish Times, Andrew Adler. Read More » -
Most Parents Monitor Their Kids’ Facebook, and You Should Too!
Most parents (especially of younger children) are on Facebook, monitor their kids’ Facebook pages, and even have their passwords. We insisted that our kids “friend” us and provide us with the widest access to their Facebook feeds. This allowed us to monitor their use during homework (and bedtime), and to ensure they were being “appropriate. Read More »
-
Bruce Springsteen, Dan Nichols and Electrifying Music
Music is like that. Electrifying, exhilarating, intoxicating. Music can transport us to higher planes of existence. I notice it whenever we go to a concert. Or go dancing. When just sitting in the sanctuary listening to Cantor Cotler when he is in the groove. Read More »
-
Andrew’s Poem: What It Means to Be A Jew Today
Andrew’s Poem from Tracie Karasik on Vimeo . Read More »
-
Israeli Breakthroughs in 2011: Prepare to be Impressed!
Want to be impressed by the achievements of a little country in the Mideast? Check out this review, by the Near East Report, on Israeli Breakthroughs in 2011 . Prepare to be impressed: — Israel remains the world’s top investor in R&D as a proportion of its GDP. Read More » -
Breathing Through God
Did you know that when you breathe you are connecting to God? Or you could be if you were aware of what you were doing. Really.As part of our experimental Jewish Spiritual Journey Facebook Group, one participant asked me, ” Does the word SHEMA have something to do with our breath? ” I love the question. Read More » -
Simcha Wars: The Battle For Joy (Part 1)
[ This article first appeared in Congregation Or Ami's Divray Or Ami newsletter. It directs readers to this blog to discover the 7 Intentional Strategies to Infuse Simcha (Joy) in our Congregation . ] Judaism, according to one accounting, has at least 15 different words to describe joy. Read More » -
Dementia in the Family
The Jewish community is aging, and Jewish communal leaders are facing up to this reality. We are contemplating what Sacred Aging looks like (including a new book Seekers of Meaning by Rabbi Richard Address, D.Min. ); our Union for Reform Judaism among others is developing new resources . Read More » -
For Jews (and others) struggling between two equally problematic presentations of Israel: ’Israel,
For Jews (and others) struggling between two equally problematic presentations of Israel: ’Israel, right or wrong’ or ‘Israel is an apartheid demon state,’ comes this Letter from Jerusalem: To a Progressive American Jewish Friend from Israeli author Gershom Gorenberg . It is a bit long, but well worth the read. Read More » -
Chanukah Rights: The Music Video
For those who believe that the minor festival of Chanukah should be celebrated with more gusto. Happy Chanukah! Read More » -
The Motif of Light in Jewish Tradition
On Chanukah we light the menorah/chanukiah, increasing the light in a very dark world. What is the significance of light in Judaism and Jewish ritual? What purpose did the menorah in the Jerusalem Temple originally serve?Rabbi Adin Steinsalz offers some answers to these questions in an article that appeared in the Jerusalem Post . Read More » -
-
Realigning the Jewish GPS
Serenity. Inspiration. Exhaustion. Uplift. Shalom. Choice words to describe the essentially indescribable feelings which permeate my heart, soul and mind as I depart five days of the Union for Reform Judaism’s Biennial Convention outside of Washington DC. Read More » -
Jewish Education is Dead; Long Live Jewish Education
I wish I had coined that phrase: “Jewish Education is Dead; Long Live Jewish Education.” But in truth, this is the title of the talk by Dr. Jonathan Woocher , the Chief Ideas Officer of JESNA , the Jewish Educational Service of North America. Dr. Read More » - Load More
