An inclusive congregation affiliated with the Conservative Movement.
Your Jewish Home for the Soul!
May 13, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Cliffnotes: Join me for a special Ask the Rabbi at 12 pm on Thursday at the food court of Menlo Park Mall to discuss JStreet Dear Hevreh, I try as best as I can to schedule my day according to the different roles I want to play in life, including community builder, spiritual leader, father, husband, pastor, and some others. Though following a schedule based on these roles is often aspirational, it helps me remember my own personal mission and the goals and the values that are most important to that mission. One of these roles is to be "an American," which means I try to spend time working on projects that connect my own mission to the values of pursuing freedom[...]
Category : Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Tag : america ask the rabbi conference of presidents of american jewish organizations israel j-street jstreet rabbi rabbi's journal
May 11, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh, I just want to take a brief moment to wish all of the mothers in our community and beyond a happy mother's day (especially to all of the first time mothers)! You deserve all of the gifts and accolades that come on this special day, a day that reminds us to make our mothers happy every day! In thinking about the gift of mothers, I recorded this message for today's counting of the Omer with a special shout out to all mothers. I hope you enjoy! Kol Tuv, Rabbi Ari Saks
Category : Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Tag : mother's day omer rabbi rabbi's journal
May 2, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh, Some issues affect you more than others... Personally, there have been moments when a particular issue -- whether in our community or in our greater culture -- stir up intense feelings within me, and I feel compelled to speak out on them. This past week, I have been riveted by the story concerning Donald Sterling's comments to his girlfriend about black people and the subsequent reactions to those comments. Perhaps it is because I am fascinated by how Judaism is portrayed in the larger culture or perhaps it is because of my love of sports (I thought about going into sports journalism before becoming a rabbi), but I I felt I had to respond in two separate ways. The first was[...]
Category : Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Tag : bigotry bulletin donald sterling rabbi rabbi's journal state of formation
April 30, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Normally I use this space to talk about a matter or an idea specifically concerning our community in order to reflect on our journey of building our Jewish Home for the Soul. However, this month I feel compelled to speak out on a matter that though not particular to our community affects our identity as a Jewish community. And that matter is the Jewish need to speak out against bigotry, particularly the bigotry espoused by Donald Sterling who is the owner of the professional basketball team the Los Angeles Clippers Donald Sterling, and a man who self-identifies as a Jew. On Sunday, the world heard an audio recording in which Mr. Sterling implores his multiracial girlfriend, V. Stiviano, to “don’t[...]
Category : Bulletin Articles home Rabbi Tag : bulletin articles donald sterling los angeles clippers may 2014
April 17, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
(4/17/14) Human beings love to count. Whether we are counting sheep in our sleep or attendees at services, there is something built into our DNA that enjoys the act of counting. It soothes us and it gives us a sense of accomplishment, especially when we reach a desired number at the end of our counting. Yet, Judaism teaches us that while counting is an inevitable part of life, we must also be wary of the dangers of putting too much stock in numbers. As the Magen Avraham, a 17th century Polish commentator on the Shulkhan Arukh, writes in one of his long comments on Orah Hayyim (156:2), it is forbidden to count Jews: אסור למנות ישראל אפילו אינו מכוון למנות רק להטיל גורל אפילו[...]
Category : Omer Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Tag : 1 Samuel 11:8 1 Samuel 15:4 counting counting Jews Judges 1:5 magen avraham minyan omer passover rabbi rabbi's journal shavuot spiritual journey Yoma
April 14, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh, Every year, Passover affords us an opportunity to remember to not take our freedom for granted, as individuals and especially as Jews. No matter how starkly the haggadah teaches us that our freedom is precious, that if it wasn't for the exodus we "would still be slaves in Egypt," our day-to-day life in a country in which Jews are freer than ever before can make this entreaty by the rabbis sound little hollow. That is until moments like yesterday. With gunshots sounding at the JCC and a Jewish retirement home in Kansas City, so too does the warning of the rabbis embedded in the teachings of the haggadah: remember that you were slaves in Egypt because if you're not careful it could happen again. Throughout[...]
Category : American Jewish News Passover Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Tag : american jewish news anti-semitism JCC Kansas City passover rabbi rabbi's journal
April 13, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh, For anyone who has stepped foot in our sanctuary, you know how it was built to showcase music that would lift up your soul to reach the highest reaches of heaven. While we aren't able to replicate the frequency in which this feat was accomplished in the past, it is moving to have a taste of that kind of spiritual experience when we are able to on occasion. Over the past year and a half we have actively sought out to bring that kind of music back into our sanctuary through our Cantor Showcase program. In partnering with the Cantorial School of the Jewish Theological Seminary we have had the pleasure of welcoming three outstanding cantorial students to grace our sanctuary with[...]
Category : Cantorial Showcase Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Tag : Cantor Rachel Brook Cantorial Showcase Jewish Theological Seminary rabbi rabbi's journal
By bethmordecai no comments.
Faith in Words Sermon for Shabbat Hagadol (April 12th 2014) Rabbi Ari Saks Congregation Beth Mordecai Once there was a king who ruled many kingdoms, yet no matter how much wealth he amassed, no matter how many people he helped, he never felt at peace. His mind raced in so many different directions he could never feel as if he was in the right place at the right time. When he was sad he wanted to be happy, and for some reason when he was happy, he wanted to be sad. Well, he thought, if my mind is never at peace then neither should my kingdom. So he set about making every part of his kingdom the opposite of what it should be –[...]
Category : Cantorial Showcase home Passover Rabbi Sermons Shabbat Tag : capacity community high holidays Interfaith Center of Greater Philadelphia mission passover rabbi rabbi david wolpe Rabbi Ezekiel Landau Reverend Nicole Diroff Rosh Hashanah sacrifices sermons shabbat words Yom Kippur
April 10, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh, As I've often mentioned, we must continually seek to refresh our rituals with creativeinnovation so that they remain relevant for the current generation of Jews. One of the ways in which we've incorporated some of that innovation is in re-imagining the ways to observe and uphold the values of the second days of the holidays. For instance... we revamped the second day Rosh Hashanah service to be a unique mixture of singing, discussion, meditation, and tradition organized around a particular theme and not lasting longer than two hours. we drove to the homes of members in the congregation in order to help them fulfill the mitzvah of waving lulav and etrog we celebrated the stories of our unique Torah at a Rabbi's Tisch[...]
Category : Passover Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Tag : creativity driving innovation omer online yizkor passover rabbi rabbi's journal
April 8, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh, As we approach our final week of preparation for the holiday of Passover, my mind turns to the art of telling the story of Passover. Stories are more than simply their content, they are the methods, the timing, the layers of how that content is shared, and the story of Passover is no different. Our primary method of telling the story of Passover is through the reading of the Haggadah at the Passover seder. It is an ancient ritual, but not that ancient. The seder was crafted by the rabbis of the Tannaitic period (approximately 100-300 CE), which means that this scene most definitely never happened. So how was the story of Passover shared prior to the seder? We get a hint at the answer by virtue of the fact that the haggadah itself[...]
Category : Passover Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Tag : haggadah meaning passover rabbi rabbi's journal rabbis seder stories story storytelling