“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....
As you read this, I am on my way to Atlanta with KI teens. We will spend this weekend exploring the American south as we study the history of the civil rights movement. We will not only learn about Rosa Parks and the Rev Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., we...
This week, I found myself pausing, just for a moment, before walking into our building. To walk through a doorway is an act of trust. After the act of antisemitism at Temple Israel in Michigan last week, I felt like pausing, remembering that a man drove into their building with...
Join LFFC CSA Nourishing Community @ Keneseth Israel-Support local farms with your fork Support local farms with your fork by joining our organic Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). Nourishing Community proudly partners with Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative (LFFC) for our 20th year of distributing vegetables, fruit, eggs, bread and/or herbal medicine...
It feels like we are living in a whirlwind. War rages half a world away. The climate fluctuates once and again. The economy is hardly stable. ICE wreaks havoc in cities across our nation. Hate rears its head in the form of antisemitism, racism, transphobia, and xenophobia. There is bullying...
Once again, missiles are falling on Israeli homes. Once again, our heart is in the east. And – once again – we feel competing emotions deep within us. Since October 7, 2023, I have written once again about cognitive dissonance, the idea that multiple things can be true at the...
In this week’s Torah portion, Tetzaveh, the robe of the High Priest is sewn with gold bells along its hem. As he entered and left the Sanctuary, their sound would be heard. Each one of us is a gold bell, and as we pray together our voice resonates creating holiness....
Four years ago, Mikaela Shiffrin’s Olympic dreams died amid a series of painful events. The most decorated skier in history, she was – according to the experts – guaranteed to come away with a host of medals. After all, she had been winning races all her life, beating competitors older than...
