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!
July 5, 2012 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
This afternoon, I had the honor of going with Elliot to the apartment of Sarah Omanson z"l, who passed away at the beginning of June. Her nephew, Joel, was coming in on occasion to move her aunt's stuff from her apartment and he asked us to if we were interested in taking her collection of Judaica and Jewish books. We obliged and this afternoon brought over five large boxes of Jewish books from her library! These books keenly described a woman who moved from Brooklyn to Perth Amboy to become a librarian at Fort Monmouth for 35 years (1942-1979). They epitomize a woman who wrote poems and short stories as a member of the International Society of[...]
Category : Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Tag : books history knowledge legacy wisdom
July 3, 2012 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh, As I sat waiting for the fireworks at the Perth Amboy marina, I saw many kids running around, smiling, laughing, and falling. I don't know what it is, but there is something about fireworks that brings out the kid in me. The sound, the sight, the spectacle is just so magical. My mind is mesmerized, my attention is arrested. It's a moment that inspires. This afternoon, I met with Larry Deutchman at Panera in Woodbridge. Among the many things we talked about was the importance of having a vision for where we want our shul to go. A vision is not just a plan for the future, it's a code of belief that inspires us as we move forward.[...]
Category : Perth Amboy News Rabbi's Journal Tag : fireworks kids one on one perth amboy spectacle vision
July 2, 2012 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh, Everyone is unique. Today I met with two members of our community (Harriet Pearlman and Vardi Roy) and a colleague (Cantor Sheldon Levin from Neve Shalom in Metuchen). Each meeting was different with incredible stories, insights, and teachings learned from different life journeys. I did my best to listen, to learn, and to share my thoughts when appropriate. It is amazing what wisdom we contain, if only we are open to sharing it and to listening to it. Tomorrow I am meeting with another colleague (Rabbi Ben Goldstein of Temple Beth El-Mekor Chayim in Cranford) and two more community members (Larry Deutchman and Scott Gursky). I pray that I will be open to hearing their unique wisdom they to teach[...]
Category : Rabbi's Journal Tag : local jewish community one on one stories unique torah unique wisdom
July 1, 2012 By bethmordecai no comments.
To the Beth Mordecai community,
Today is my first official day on the job as your new rabbi! It's hard to imagine that this day has finally arrived after thinking about it for so long. Yet, it's here and I am even more excited and energized to do this job than the day I took it. With that excitement though comes a certain amount of nervousness because I want to make the community proud. I'll be honest, I don't know exactly where this journey is going to take us. There are many different possible endings. Yet I believe that if we work hard at listening to each other and out of that listening we do what we can to help each[...]
Category : Beth Mordecai in the News Middlesex Jewish News Rabbi's Journal Tag : comments community distinctive torah excitement journey local jewish community nervousness news rabbi's journal unique torah