This week we come to the Torah portion of Re’eh, which opens with these harrowing words: ‘See this day I set before you blessing and curse: blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Eternal your God that I enjoin upon you this day; and curse, if you do not...
On August 14 KI won the Delaware Valley Synagogue Softball League Silver Cup! The Silver Cup is awarded to the champion of the second division of the league, whose mission is to foster fellowship and friendship among affiliated members of the Jewish community, and strengthen those bonds through competition and camaraderie. In addition...
This week’s Torah portion, Eikev, teaches us that gratitude is meant to overflow into blessing and song—You shall eat, be satisfied, and bless” (Deut. 8:10). Jewish life teaches that when our bellies and hearts are full, we sing! Yesterday KI was filled with song, and the heart of our community...
What does it mean to be a progressive Zionist? What does it mean to live between those on the far left, opposed to every Israeli action, and those on the far right, for whom Israel can do no wrong? What does it mean to love a place and a people...
This week we read the third of three Haftarah portions that precede Tisha B’Av, the day that commemorates the fall of the great Temple in Jerusalem in the year 70. These three portions each admonish the Israelites for straying from God, from Torah and from their fellow Jews. This third...
A few years ago, I filled out a simple volunteer form for the Women’s Center of Montgomery County, an organization that helps free victims of domestic violence and other forms of abuse. I checked the box that said “occasional help.” I thought I’d maybe help out here and there, but...
Thirty-one of us are just returning home after a powerful and transformative experience in Eastern Europe. We stayed in Warsaw and Krakow, once centers of Jewish life. We saw the horrors of Auschwitz – Birkenau with our own eyes. With every step there was so much to process. A smaller...
The largest gift collection the Temple Judea Museum has ever received arrived last week, delivered in a very large truck by Debra Gussman and her husband, Samuel “Farfel” Duckworth. It was Debra’s mom, Florence (Flo) Korostoff Gussman (1930 – 2024) who assembled this fascinating collection of Noah, his Ark, and...
This week we mark the Fourth of July. Americans will take to the beaches. They will join in parades. They will fill the sky with fireworks. There will be barbecues and American music, cherry pie and domestic beer. We will mark 249 years since the formal founding of the United...
As I write these words, Israel and Iran have agreed to a very delicate and fragile ceasefire. Following two anxious weeks of bombs and missiles, these two nations have put down their weapons. Iranian leadership has long stood adamantly opposed to Israel (and America). We are the eternal scapegoats not...
