Rabbi Ezray - Yom Kippur: The Opportunity of Shmita
09/20/2021 10:21:13 AM
Midrash is an extraordinary genre of Jewish literature. It takes words, stories and laws from the Torah and deepens their meaning by adding details, explanations and further stories. This interpretive act allows important questions to be explored and values to be creatively expanded. Listen to this Midrash about the moments following...Read more...
Rabbi Ezray - Yizkor: Facing Pain and Discovering Meaning
09/20/2021 09:31:27 AM
One of the moments that has stayed with me from last year’s services was right before Yizkor. In an empty sanctuary with my computer in front of me I looked at all the zoom squares and tried to feel the connection that can be present even when we are not physically together.
And then Rabbi David and Robin Teitelbaum came on screen. It meant so much to see them–knowing that Rabbi’s health was declining. To exchange greeting-once they figured out unmute-and have him and Robin hear our love filled me with emotion. I knew it might be one of the last times I saw him, and indeed our beloved Rabbi Teitelbaum died last March. For all that I know he lived a long and full life–I remain filled with sadness. I miss him and I know those of you who knew him do so as well. Read more...
Rabbi Ezray - Rosh Hashana: The Challenge of Hope
09/14/2021 08:36:38 AM
I recently listened to a podcast featuring our congregant Andy Karsner about his involvement with alternative energy. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/clean-energy-yoda-andy-karsner/id1554962073?i=1000525575905. As the interview was winding down, Andy shared an interesting personal story. He and Maria moved to New York and had their first child...Read more...
Rabbi Ilana - Rosh HaShana
09/13/2021 02:19:08 PM
Rosh HaShana Day 2 5782
Rabbi Ezray told us yesterday that hope emerges when we allow space for pain.
I’d like to tell you a story about my father.
My father thrives on interesting ideas. He is a physical chemist, and for most of his life, he was obsessed with his scientific research. None of us ever thought he would retire.
But eventually he was forced...Read more...
Bill Futornick - Rosh HaShana: Perfection and Yetzer Ha Ra
09/10/2021 11:42:10 AM
Perfection and Yetzer Ha Ra
From nothing comes something. Light suffuses the darkness; stars, oceans, chrysanthemums and koalas come into being. It is all Tov, the elemental Good. The climax of creation- humans- appears, beings made in God’s image. And they are not just Tov. They are Tov Me’od. Very Tov. Vayechulu. God finishes, ceases labor, and I can visualize the satisfaction etched on God’s face. It was...Read more...
Reopening update from the President
09/01/2021 09:50:03 AM
Dear Congregants,
I wanted to use this Voice piece to let you know what our reopening plans are through the end of 2021.
As many of you know, we held our High Holiday services under an 8000 square foot canopy in the CBJ parking lot. We had wonderful levels of attendance on both Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur and the feedback I received was overwhelmingly positive, not just about the steps we took to make worshippers feel...Read more...
Sukkot – Fun Facts, Reflections and Prayers by Rabbi Nat Ezray
09/01/2021 09:36:13 AM
Don’t overlook Sukkot! We need it now more than ever. Here are some interesting facts, reflection and a prayer that I hope will bring further meaning to Sukkot this year.
1. Sukkot is “THE HOLIDAY”
What is the most important holiday of the Jewish calendar? Most people would respond Yom Kippur or Passover. Some might even say Chanukkah. When you look at our sources – you will discover that the...Read more...
Rabbi Ilana Shoftim - Higher Love
08/19/2021 07:38:49 AM
Here’s a truth about little children, that is sometimes hard for adults to accept. Children love the people who give to them.
As they should. Young children have so many needs – physical and emotional – and our biology has programmed us to feel love for the people who provide, whether they it’s attention, or fun, or nurturing, or food.
When I was a little girl...Read more...
Rabbi Ilana - Pinchas
08/04/2021 10:41:04 AM
Most social progress is made as two steps forward and one step back.
Our family spent two nights last month at a hotel outside Grand Canyon National Park. Our room was decorated with framed, black-and-white photos of frontier explorers at the Canyon. What amazed me about those photos were the women – they were all wearing long, voluminous skirts down to the ground. Can you imagine...Read more...
Rabbi Ezray - Korach – Turning 60
08/04/2021 10:08:49 AM
That happened to me this week when I turned sixty and decided to see what traits and qualities our tradition associates with this milestone. In Pirkei Avot, we learn that thirty is the age of koach/strength; that felt right. Forty is the age of bina/insight; that too felt right. A decade ago when I turned fifty, the...Read more...