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 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 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
July 10, 2015 By bethmordecai no comments.
Parashat Pinhas 2015/5775 (Triennial II) -- Won't You Be My Messiah?
Rabbi Saks' weekly Online Parashah Class will share insight from the Jewish tradition on how YOU can identify the coming of the messiah. The messiah might be right next door...don't you want to find out!?!?
Picture from oren neu dag [Attribution]
Click here for a chronological listing of Rabbi Saks' Online Parashah Classes
Click here for a listing of Rabbi Saks' Online Parashah Classes by Torah Portion
Category : Online Learning Online Parashah Class Tag : abraham joshua heschel Book of Legends God king messiah Midrash online learning online parashah class parashah parsha pinchas pinhas priest prophets values weekly torah portion פנחס
January 15, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
In most sanctuaries, there is a verse from scripture placed above the ark. Residing at eye level with the ner tamid (eternal flame) this scripture is a meditative piece to remind the worshippers in the pews of the intention behind our prayers. One of the most popular phrases to adorn the top of a sanctuary is an adaptation from a Talmudic phrase: דע לפני מי אתה עומד -- Know Before Whom You Stand (Masekhet B'rakhot 28b). We worship before a God, a Presence, so much greater than ourselves, and when we stand in worship, we must be aware of that powerful Presence.
The Talmudic source for this quote indicates that it came as Rabbi Eliezer was on his death[...]
Category : Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Tag : abraham joshua heschel Adult Learning b'rakhot JCC of Middlesex Martin Luther King Neve Shalom prayer rabbi rabbi eliezer rabbi's journal shul Social Justice synagogue talmud Temple Emanu-El
January 3, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel writes that Shabbat is a palace in time, a physical abode for the spirit in the hidden reality of time. In short, it's the home for our souls to feel safe and secure from the ravages of the world. This security is not brought on by by being surrounded by the creature comforts of physical things, but by being immersed in the aura of the spiritual realm in which our souls experience the light of God's love for all of creation. That godly light, which our souls transfer to our temporal bodies on moments like Shabbat, not only remind us of God's watchful presence in our lives but helps us experience God in a personal, intimate, and[...]
Category : Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Shabbat Tag : abraham joshua heschel God light palace in time rabbi rabbi's journal shabbat message spirit
July 5, 2013 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh, Yesterday, I went up to Hoboken to view the fireworks. The city has become a popular place for July 4th over the last few years because of it's proximity to the colorful display of joy over the Hudson River; popular to the tune of 40,000 spectators according to a local event staffer. As I waited for the show to begin, it struck me how many people from different races, religions, creeds, and ethnicities were gathered together peacefully for one (viewing) purpose... An Indian family lying out on a blanket to my right trying to remain comfortable during the long wait A Hispanic man standing next to me asking me to hold his spot while seeking out a better view [...]
Category : Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Tag : abraham joshua heschel diversity Divinity fireworks rabbi rabbi's journal unity