Congregation Beth Mordecai
Congregation Beth Mordecai
An inclusive congregation affiliated with the Conservative Movement.
Your Jewish Home for the Soul!
An inclusive congregation affiliated with the Conservative Movement.
Your Jewish Home for the Soul!
September 25, 2016 By bethmordecai no comments.
BETH MORDECAI BULLETINS -- Check out what's happening at Beth Mordecai with our latest monthly (and bi-monthly) bulletins:
2016
NEW! September/October 2016
July/August 2016
June 2016
May 2016
April 2016
March 2016
February 2016
January 2016
2015
December 2015
October/November 2015
September 2015
August 2015
July 2015
June 2015
May 2015
April 2015
March 2015
February 2015
January 2015
Category : Bulletin home videos-archive What's Been Happening at Beth Mordecai
August 15, 2016 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
Yesterday (Sunday) I had the pleasure of spending the end of Tisha B'av learning Torah with a number of 20s and 30s who live in Highland Park. Many topics were included in this marathon of learning including...
how Tisha B'av implores us to feel the pain of historical collective trauma,
how we struggle with understanding why bad things happen to seemingly good people,
and how our love affair with Jerusalem revolves around lamenting its destruction and hoping for its rebirth (among other topics).
The conversation was stimulating, variegated, and incisive because we weren't shy to share our own perspectives - our Unique Torah - and we weren't afraid to listen and be moved by the teachings of[...]
Category : home Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Tag : learning rabbi rabbi's journal synagogue tisha b'av unaffiliated unique torah young people
July 21, 2016 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
Below you'll find a prayer I wrote in honor of the victims of the Dallas shooting which I'll be reading at a vigil today organized by the Perth Amboy Chaplain Corps. I will be speaking on this prayer (and the sources quoted) during my talk tonight.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Ari Saks
Adonai Elohei Haruchot L'khol Basar, God, Source of the breath of all flesh (Numbers 27:15)
You breathed your spirit into the nostrils of the First Human (Genesis 2:7)
Imbuing our earthly bodies with your heavenly spirit (Rashi on Genesis 2:7)
A pure spirit (Talmud Masekhet B'rakhot 60b; Birkhot Hashahar)
So as long as I breathe, I acknowledge Your Presence (Talmud Masekhet B'rakhot 60b; Birkhot Hashahar)
Lord in this moment of hamas, of anger and hostility (Genesis[...]
Category : American Jewish News home Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Tag : #BlackLivesMatter breathe dallas Police prayer rabbi rabbi's journal shooting
July 13, 2016 By bethmordecai no comments.
Do you love Shabbat by the Sea?
Do you want to share it with as many people as possible?
Then become a Shabbat by the Sea Season Supporter!
For only $50 a person you can ensure that our community will have a wonderful experience by the bay and enjoy a delicious meal together – sometimes catered, sometimes pot luck – without the hassle and discomfort of charging people to come to our program. With your support we will never have to turn someone away from enjoying the full Shabbat by the Sea experience while also helping us attract new people to our community.
For your support you will receive…
A special thank you letter
Your name (or a name of a family[...]
Category : home Shabbat By The Sea Videos Tag : donation shabbat by the sea
July 1, 2016 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
It's my fault that fireworks are not happening tonight. One of the organizers asked me to pray that rain would not fall tonight, and though I did offer a prayer, it didn't help; the weather forecast is too inclement for the fireworks to happen tonight. They've been rescheduled for tomorrow and I hope the organizer doesn't ask me to offer a prayer for those fireworks - I don't want it to backfire.
Before you write me a note saying "to not take your prayers so seriously" or that "you really didn't cause this," just know that I wrote the previous paragraph with the proverbial tongue in my cheek. I recognize that prayer doesn't necessarily work in that way we most[...]
Category : home Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Shabbat Tag : abraham joshua heschel diversity fireworks rabbi rabbi's journal unity
June 23, 2016 By bethmordecai no comments.
Reflection on the Cleveland Cavaliers winning the NBA Championship and our upcoming Shabbat by the Sea experience on Caring for One Another...
Dear Hevreh,
I confess that I was very excited when the Cleveland Cavaliers ("Cavs") won the NBA championship on Father's Day. Why is this something I have to confess to? Because I'm not a Cavs fan, I'm a Sixers fan. More to the point, I'm a Philadelphia sports fan and it surprised me that cheering for the Cavaliers to win on Sunday night felt somewhat like cheering on one of my Philly teams win. It was odd, because a part of me thought that I should not feel that way, that no team winning a championship could (or should) feel[...]
Category : home Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Tag : Cavaliers Championship Cleveland Desert Empathy Fan Philly Promised Land rabbi rabbi's journal sports
June 17, 2016 By bethmordecai no comments.
The following is a preview of a conversation this Shabbat morning in honor of Father's Day...
Dear Hevreh,
I'm not sure how to celebrate Father's Day. Though this will be my third Father's Day as a "father," I don't quite know how to approach the significance of this day. It it supposed to be a "ho-hum" day with the highlight being the giving of gag gifts and the telling of dad jokes? Or is it supposed to be something more significant where the role of a father is appreciated in a way analogous to (though not the same as) the way that Mother's Day is celebrated as a High Holiday on our secular calendar?
I guess this question of how[...]
Category : home Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Tag : dads egalitarianism fathers day home jobs society work
June 8, 2016 By bethmordecai no comments.
If something is important, it contributes to your mission, your values, your high priority goals...if we don't have a clear idea of what is important, of the results we desire in our lives, we are easily diverted into responding to the urgent.
(Stephen Covey, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, p. 151)
[The Sabbath] is a day on which hours do not oust one another...the seventh day is like a palace in time with a kingdom for all. It is not a date, but an atmosphere
(Heschel, The Sabbath, p. 21)
Have you ever noticed that a telephone ring is really annoying? I don't know about you, but whether it's a traditional ring, a screaming ringtone, or a gentle buzz, it doesn't[...]
Category : Bulletin Articles home Rabbi Tag : abraham joshua heschel bulletin message importance June Bulletin quadrant 2 Sabbath Seven Habits of Highly Effective People shabbat Stephen Covey telephone urgency
May 25, 2016 By bethmordecai no comments.
Reflection on this weekend's Scholar in Residence Weekend -- From Being Jewish to Doing Jewish: Deepening Our Jewish Identities
מָֽה־אָשִׁ֥יב לַיהוָ֑ה כָּֽל־תַּגְמוּל֥וֹהִי עָלָֽי׃
How can I repay unto the LORD All His bountiful dealings toward me?
(Psalm 116:12)
Dear Hevreh,
Smiling. It's one of the most important things we can do, but also one of the hardest. We smile when we're happy, laughing, and enjoying our experience, but too often we walk into life's moments with a skeptic's frown; we demand that others impress us before rewarding them with a smile of acceptance.
As a rabbi looking out at a congregation on Shabbat morning or during the holidays, the task of turning a skeptic's frown into a believer's smile can be daunting. If[...]
Category : home Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Scholar in Residence Weekend Tag : gratitude hakarat hatov mitzvah rabbi Rabbi Jonathan Porath rabbi's journal scholar in residence weekend הכרת הטוב
May 18, 2016 By bethmordecai no comments.
The following is the first of three journals previewing this weekend's Scholar in Residence Weekend -- From Being Jewish to Doing Jewish: Deepening Our Jewish Identities. Today's installment focuses on the Friday night program around "being Jewish."
Dear Hevreh,
Chances are that if you're reading this message, there's been at least one seminal moment in your life when you either felt a connection to being Jewish, or (if you don't identify as Jewish) you developed an appreciation for what Judaism has to offer. In other words, regardless of our particular experiences, we share a universal feeling of the importance of whatever-it-is-that-we-call-"Jewish."
Our weekend's scholar Rabbi Porath will spend some time on Friday night helping us articulate and appreciate these seminal experiences of being/feeling[...]
Category : home Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Scholar in Residence Weekend Tag : Cantor Bronwen Mullin connection inner yid Jewish rabbi Rabbi Jonathan Porath rabbi's journal scholar in residence weekend soul spark