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!
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
April 4, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
When I was in rabbinical school, we talked a good deal about the language we use to describe our communities. One of the terms that got tossed around a lot was "family." It's a word that connotes a feeling of closeness, of connection, of security, and of a deep and powerful bond that holds us together. Yet there is a certain amount of poetic license in describing our synagogue community as a family. Not only are most of us not related, but despite the close bonds that some of us feel with one another, do we really have such strong ties that each of us would call each other "family"?
Personally, I've tried to be cognizant of how often I describe[...]
Category : Family Shabbat Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Shabbat Tag : aspiration comfort family family shabbat intergenerational rabbi rabbi's journal shabbat support wisdom
April 2, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
Today I will be headed into New York to meet with our cantor for the Cantor Showcase, some members of our Homecoming team, and a colleague who can provide some insight on ways to grow our community. Playing off of the wild success of sharing pictures of our Homecoming on Facebook that has generated many "likes" and "comments," I'll be "journaling" my experience in New York today via our Facebook page along with some short running commentary. Feel free to check www.facebook.com/CongregationBethMordecai throughout the day to see some of the latest pictures and share some of your thoughts on how to take our next steps to grow our striving Jewish Home for the Soul.
Kol Tuv,
Rabbi Ari Saks
P.S. For more commentary on today's meetings you can follow[...]
Category : Cantorial Showcase Homecoming Weekend Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Tag : cantor showcase Cantorial Showcase community building facebook homecoming weekend pictures rabbi rabbi's journal
April 1, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
When I arrived in our community, one of my first experiences was to head to New York to meet with Cantor David Levine z"l about our high holiday services. It was clear from that initial meeting on the streets of New York that Cantor Levine had a special love for cantorialhazzanut and a penetrating passion for expressing the powerful themes of cantorialhazzanut on the high holidays.
When his untimely death occurred only a few months after he graced our bimah for the last time, I knew that his legacy would live on in the minds, hearts, and spirits of the members of our congregation he touched with his music. Yet, as a congregation we have to do more than[...]
Category : Cantorial Showcase Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Tag : cantor david levine cantor showcase Cantorial Showcase legacy passover rabbi rabbi's journal
March 26, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
Yesterday, I talked about how, in interfaith contexts, sharing meaningful objects from our faith traditions help us share ourselves with one another. Tonight, I will be engaging in another interfaith encounter in which we will share part of ourselves with one another...as clergy.
Tonight I will be co-leading a training/meeting for the Perth Amboy Chaplain Corps with a wonderful pastor, Bernadette Falcon Lopez of God's Army Ministries. The purpose of this training is to begin the process of building the collective mission for the Perth Amboy Chaplain Corps, which unites the largest collection of clergy in Perth Amboy. We are beginning this process in the similar manner that Reverend Anne-Marie and I began the interfaith session on Sunday, through sharing our[...]
Category : Perth Amboy Chaplain Corps Perth Amboy News Rabbi's Journal Tag : clergy interfaith Pastor Bernadette Falcon Lopez perth amboy chaplain corps perth amboy news rabbi rabbi's journal Reverend Anne-Marie training
March 25, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
There we were on Sunday afternoon, four Jewish-Christian couples, a minister, and a rabbi, sitting in the chapel at Beth Mordecai sharing meaningful objects from our respective traditions. Kippot, crosses, bibles, prayer books, necklaces, candles were brought forward, each one with a story to tell about how its "owner" found meaning in their existence. Through these wonderful objects, we shared more than just stories -- we shared ourselves, how each one of us finds deep and powerful meaning in being faithful to our religious traditions and how there is so much for us to learn from one another.
These are not the stories you normally hear in the media about interfaith couples and families. What you normally hear is how if you[...]
Category : Interfaith Families Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Tag : interfaith families Jewish-Christian meaningful objects rabbi rabbi's journal Reverend Anne-Marie Jeffery St. Peter's Episcopilian Church
March 23, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
This past Shabbat, I spoke about the importance of innovation, in our programming and in our mission building, to not only keep the content of our community fresh but to build excitement in our community for trying new and innovative ways of engaging Judaism. Today, is a day devoted to fulfilling that promise of being innovative.
This morning, I will join our esteemed executive director Elliot Rubin at a half-day conference run by United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism to bring small congregations together to talk about best practices and share ideas on how to run our organizations more effectively. As small congregations we share many of the same challenges, like membership growth and retention, programming breadth, and depth of[...]
Category : Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Tag : elliot rubin faith traditions innovation interfaith families small congregations united synagogue wisdom
March 21, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
(3/21/14)
I don't know about you but there aren't many ways we can top last Homecoming Shabbat. The excitement, the energy, the food, the fun, it's hard to replicate what took nearly a year to create.
But that's ok, because Shabbat doesn't need replication; Shabbat just needs to be repeated.
Every week is full of different experiences and different adventures in our lives. Some are good, some are bad, some are indifferent, some are exciting, but each one is unique and adds another layer to the stories of our lives. Shabbat comes at the end of each week to help us process and appreciate the story we just added that week to our unique life experience, to our unending Unique Torah.
So come share[...]
Category : Homecoming Weekend Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Shabbat Tag : homecoming weekend rabbi rabbi's journal shabbat unique torah
March 19, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
(3/19/14)
What was your favorite part of Homecoming Weekend? The schmoozing on the boat? The reminiscing with old and new friends? We're sharing some of our favorite memories right now on our new Facebook group "We Are Beth Mordecai" so please log on and share your memories.
As I think back in my own mind to all of these memories (and as I read the ones you share online), I can't help but feel one thing...energized. The love and connection that permeated our sanctuary, Safran Hall, the boat, and even the walking tour of Perth Amboy is still present, like God's sukkat shalom in the evening Hashkivenu prayer. Ever present and ever comforting is the feeling generated by the Homecoming Weekend, which leaves me with only one response... to[...]
Category : Homecoming Weekend Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Tag : command energy hashkivenu homecoming weekend rabbi rabbi's journal sukkat shalom
March 17, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
(3/17/14)
Wow.
How can one put into words the feelings from this past Homecoming weekend? Amazing. Inspirational. Energizing. Incredible. Maybe, but even those superlatives don't tell the story of the power of our extended Beth Mordecai community. It's an indescribable and sublime feeling to adequately articulate what this weekend meant or what it did for our community. What word can sum up the connections made between members and present? What description can articulate looking out at a vibrant and present community on Friday night? What expression can adequately summarize the love, connection, and friendship we shared on the cruise? Really there is no word, but if there is any word which can describe the lack of an adequate vocabulary, it would be[...]
Category : Homecoming Weekend Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Tag : beth mordecai extended community community homecoming weekend rabbi rabbi's journal we are beth mordecai wow