‘Rabbi’s Journal’ Category

Rabbi’s Journal

November 8, 2013
By bethmordecai
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DAY 496: Becoming Aware of Our Inner Shalom (at tonight’s White Out Friday Night)

Dear Hevreh, Each of us is capable of finding our own sense of "peace." Whether it's a relaxing walk, a good book, or perhaps even coming to shul, there are certain times when our minds are relaxed and our spirits are put at ease as we experience the calming effect of...peace. How do you find a sense of peace? Have you ever wondered why there certain moments, particular environments, or perhaps even encounters with people give you that sense of peace? How is it that at one moment our hearts, minds, and souls are full of restlessness but at the very next moment we can fill ourselves with love, as the sh'ma teaches us, and thus become aware of an overwhelming feeling of[...]

Category : Rabbi's Journal Shabbat White Out Friday Night
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Rabbi’s Journal

November 7, 2013
By bethmordecai
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DAY 495: The Purpose of Memory (Anticipating Our Reunion Weekend)

Cherish zikkaron, cherish memory -- memory is the engine that drives our people forward because it binds our past together (Rosh Hashanah 5773 Day 2 Sermon -- Living the Inner Life of the Holidays)     Dear Hevreh,  During the bar mitzvah celebration this past Sunday, a number of people remarked how the sanctuary housed a deep spiritual presence of Jewish memory. Even though many of the attendees never stepped foot in our sanctuary before Sunday, they felt as if they were returning to where they came from.     Memory, especially Jewish memory, is a powerful tool that binds us together as a people. Whether it's committing ourselves to never forget the atrocities done to our people or to simply enjoy our favorite Jewish "soul" food, powerful Jewish experiences seem to[...]

Category : Bar Mitzvah Rabbi's Journal Reunion Weekend Rosh Hashanah
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Rabbi’s Journal

November 6, 2013
By bethmordecai
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DAY 494: The Keif (or “Fun”) of Rubber Ducks

Dear Hevreh, Last night, many of you received an email from our esteemed Executive Director Elliot Rubin about selling ducks for our Rubber Duck Race fundraiser on December 8th. (In case you did not receive the email, you can read it here). The focus of that email was on the importance of selling ducks as a mitzvah, as a command, in which we recognize our obligation to raise valuable tz'dakkah for our community and the greater Perth Amboy community. While that sense of mitzvah is extremely important, I want to focus in this journal entry on another way to look at this campaign we're undertaking over the next 33 days. This process should be keif, or FUN!, because c'mon...we're selling rubber ducks!   I don't know about you but[...]

Category : Rabbi's Journal Rubber Duck Race Uncategorized
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Rabbi’s Journal

November 5, 2013
By bethmordecai
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DAY 493: The Spirit of White Out Friday Night

*Note: This message is a little longer than usual Dear Hevreh, When I experience the need for some musical inspiration I often turn to Spotify, a popular online music sharing service. As I'm sure many of us have, there are a number of different playlists on my Spotify account. However, there is one particular playlist that seems to be on repeat whenever I need some help thinking or writing about a topic (like I'm doing right now). That playlist is simply called "White Out Friday Night." Last winter we ran a new Friday night program in which community members were encouraged to wear white as a symbol of the snow on the ground and the purity and holiness of Shabbat. More than[...]

Category : Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Shabbat White Out Friday Night
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Rabbi’s Journal

November 4, 2013
By bethmordecai
no comments.

DAY 492: Organizing Through Stories

Dear Hevreh, As many of you know, I have been on a personal campaign since I started as your rabbi to meet with every member of the congregation. These meetings aren't simply to say hi and introduce myself, but rather an opportunity to hear the stories that matter most to you - the stories of your upbringing, of your family, and if your Jewish journey. Stories have been a big part of my rabbinate as you can see here, here, and here, and the process of meeting people one on one to hear your stories is a method of building community that was reinforced during the community organizing training I was apart of last week at JTS. The idea[...]

Category : Rabbi's Journal
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Rabbi’s Journal

November 3, 2013
By bethmordecai
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DAY 491: This Is How It Starts…One Simhah At A Time

Dear Hevreh,   Today is a wonderful day because for the first time in recent memory, we welcome a teenage Bar Mitzvah boy and his family to mark this wonderful occasion for their family in our community. By partnering with the Hebrew Corner, a non-denominational Hebrew School run by Cantor Avima Darnov, we connected with Lyle and Robin Sandler who were searching for a venue to host the bar mitzvah of their son, Ben. After many conversations and opportunities for the Sandlers to experience our community (including participating in our Unique High Holiday Experience on the second day of Rosh Hashanah), they agreed to host this wonderful simhah in our Jewish home.   Being a part of the Sandlers' simhah is a wonderful privilege for our congregation and it[...]

Category : Bar and Bat Mitzvah Bar Mitzvah Rabbi's Journal Rosh Hashanah Youth Education
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Rabbi’s Journal

October 8, 2013
By bethmordecai
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DAY 465: The Importance of Feedback To Knowing What Works

Dear Hevreh, We are still less than a month removed from our High Holiday celebrations as a community, and I hope you are still feeling some of the positive effects of those days together and that they helped make the wisdom of a Jewish tradition come alive for you. I've already heard a good amount of positive and constructive feedback from you on the content and the process of those days, yet in order to make the lessons from those days stick throughout the year, and in order to improve the overall experience of the holidays every year, it is important to know more. That is why this week I will continue to listen to anecdotal feedback through private conversations and[...]

Category : Holidays Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Rosh Hashanah Yom Kippur
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Rabbi’s Journal

October 1, 2013
By bethmordecai
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DAY 458: Numbers, Holidays, and Crafting a Special Sauce

Dear Hevreh, On Kol Nidre, I challenged our community to build something special that will last. Yet if we are truly going to build something special then throughout this process we must identify the ingredients that will go into our "special sauce." Identifying these ingredients will require opportunities for us to come together on an individual and communal basis to share our Jewish passions with one another, which means that one of the key indicators for knowing that we are on our way to crafting our special sauce is how successful we are at coming together and showing up at schul. Enter Exhibit A...Holiday attendance. I'm not talking about the High Holidays, but rather the joyous holidays of Sukkot, Sh'mini Atzeret, and Simhat[...]

Category : Rabbi's Journal Sh'mini Atzeret Simhat Torah Sukkot Yom Kippur
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Rabbi’s Journal

September 25, 2013
By bethmordecai
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DAY 452: 5 Reasons to Love Torah

Dear Hevreh, 5 Reasons I love Torah....       #1 -- Every time I look at a piece of Torah, I find something new I never found before      #2 -- Just looking at the letters as they drip with tradition and Godliness is a spiritual experience      #3 -- Who knew that dancing with a scroll could be so much fun?      #4 -- It grounds me, and reminds me to serve a higher purpose greater than myself      #5 -- Recognizing that Torah does not only live in a book; it lives in our hearts, as our own Unique Torah   What are some of the reasons YOU love Torah? What are some of the ways that Torah lives in YOUR heart?    Come join us to explore those questions, and to have a fun[...]

Category : Holidays Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Simhat Torah
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Rabbi’s Journal

September 24, 2013
By bethmordecai
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DAY 451: Hakafot, Yizkor, and Anxiety

Dear Hevreh, As I sit at my desk trying to think about how to describe our upcoming celebrations of the holidays of Sh'mini Atzeret and Simhat Torah, I'm struck by a particular thought. Judaism is a religion that thrives on anxiety. Now bear with me, for a moment -- we just celebrated the High Holidays which is a period of serious reflection as we consider the aspects of our character that we'd like to work on for the following year. Yet Rosh Hashanah is supposed to be a joyous holiday, and Yom Kippur is considered to be a Shabbat Shabbaton, the greatest of all Sabbaths, and no one would mistake Shabbat for a sad occassion. The juxtaposition of the solemnity[...]

Category : Holidays Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Rosh Hashanah Sh'mini Atzeret Simhat Torah Yom Kippur
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