Our Torah portion this week begins with a manual on lighting the lamps of the first ever synagogue: ‘When you light the lamps, let seven lamps give light at the front… and Aaron did so, lighting the lamps at the front as God commanded… Each lampstand was a hammered work...
Ecclesiastes teaches that ‘to everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven.’ We are very much in the season of milestones. Over these coming weeks we will watch as our children and grandchildren graduate from high school and college. Some will move on from middle...
Shavuot is one of Judaism’s most beautiful celebrations because it reminds us that revelation did not happen only once at Mount Sinai. Torah must continually be renewed. Confirmation traditionally takes place on Shavuot because Shavuot celebrates the giving of Torah at Sinai. Just as our people stood together to receive...
On Tuesday, a mural was installed in memory of the children who lost their lives in the Holocaust. Artist Jane M. Hirsberg — a member of KI, a teacher in the Quest Noar program, and a member of the TJM Artists Collaborative — created the mural, inspired by the poem...
Our Torah portion this week will note that on each night of their journey across the wilderness the twelve tribes would all camp beneath their own flag: “The Israelites shall each camp with his flag, under the banners of their ancestral house; they shall camp around the Tent of Meeting”...
In this week’s Torah portion, Parashat Behar, we read: “But in the seventh year the land shall have a complete rest, a Shabbat of the Eternal” (Leviticus 25:4). The land itself is commanded to pause, to breathe, and to restore itself. In the spirit of the upcoming Mother’s Day, Behar...
Just before writing these words, I sent notice to the group that was to go with me to Israel this summer that our trip must be postponed. There is too much uncertainty. Too much remains unsure. Our trip I fear would be enshrouded in fear and angst. I pray we...
“Kedoshim tihyu”—you shall be holy. This line in Parashat Kedoshim feels both simple and impossibly expansive. We think of holiness as something elevated, distant, reserved for rare moments, but Kedoshim teaches that holiness is obtainable. Holiness is not reserved for the utmost sacred and distant—it is something we can all...
This past weekend was a wonderful time celebrating Keneseth Israel and I so appreciate the outpouring in honor of my twenty years as KI’s Executive Director. My remarks during the service are included below. I am honored by your presence this evening. The comments from the speakers, the tribute book...
This weekend will truly be a community celebration of Brian Rissinger, our beloved Executive Director, who has served our synagogue with deep commitment and dedication for 20 years. As I was preparing for our Shabbat Spring Celebration Service, I began looking through photos of Brian to create a visual tribute....
