This week, our youngest daughter, Kira, becomes Bat Mitzvah. Her Torah portion happens to be B’har which means “on the mountain.” This is a portion of perspective, a chance to gain some “height,” and to evaluate what is meaningful to us. To our tradition, this portion teaches us that rest...
This Shabbat, Friday, April 14, 2023 at 7:00 p.m., is our Organ Donor Shabbat. Organ donation is central to Judaism as one of our tenets is “Pikuach Nefesh.” Jewish tradition considers saving human life — pikuach nefesh in Hebrew — to be among the highest ethical obligations. Saving one life,...
Each year we honor a member for lifelong service to KI and service to humanity with a Rabbi David Einhorn Award and a plaque on the Simcha Wall. This award is presented at our Heritage Shabbat which was created about ten years ago to honor the founding of KI in...
Our prayers and thoughts are with the people of Turkey and Syria, in the aftermath of this devastating earthquake (7.8) on Monday, February 6. It is so tragic and difficult to comprehend that the death toll is currently around 19,000. May the memories of the victims be a blessing. We...
Lately a lot of people have said to me that my kids are so grown up. They’ve made a transformation. I love these comments, because I usually feel it’s commentary on the transformation my daughters, Aria and Kira, are going through and I appreciate that someone took the time to...
This week’s Torah portion Chayei Sarah, means “Life of Sarah,” but it actually speaks of how Abraham deals with the loss of his beloved wife, Sarah. In verse 23:2, there are two different verbs for mourning. One is “to wail” and one is “to cry.” This story reminds us that...
As we celebrate our joyous holiday of Sukkot, I would like to invite you to explore the tradition we call “ushpizin” in your own Sukkahs or in our beautiful Sukkah at KI. “Ushpizin” and “ushpizot”.is a short ceremony to welcome our ancestors- our patriarchs and matriarchs into our Sukkah. On...
We are entering into the month of Elul, a time of reflection and change. We look inward to find where we might have gone off track, and how we can, once again, align with ourselves, our community, and our world. In this week’s Torah portion Ki Tetzei, God tells us...
In this week’s Torah portion Eikev, we are given some good advice on how to handle large changes in our lives. In this portion, God reminds us that “the land we are about to cross into isn’t like Egypt from which you have come. There the grain you have sowed...
Last Sunday, our very own Lee Slobotkin, KI’s Creative Director, performed for our community in a beautiful concert filled with Broadway songs and contemporary music. (Thank you to our Women of KI and Adult Education Committee for making it happen!) It isn’t unusual for us to hear Lee singing or...
