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!
March 10, 2016 By bethmordecai no comments.
Previewing this Sunday's Mordy's Brunch Hour with Rabbi Gerald Zelizer...
Dear Hevreh,
Yesterday, we restarted the popular, weekly Ask the Rabbi program at Menlo Park Mall on Wednesdays at 12 pm. One of the reasons for returning to these weekly sessions is because it gives a chance for informal conversation among us, to open up about deeper conversations on faith, family, and the future of Judaism. But what's more these conversations, and the ones that follow over the phone, over coffee, and over kiddush, among rabbis and congregants form the bond that makes our community strong. Through talking we build a partnership to make Beth Mordecai the greatest Jewish home any soul could ever yearn for.
This is why I am so[...]
Category : home Mordy's Brunch Hour Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Tag : community Middlesex County Mordy's Brunch Hour rabbi rabbi's journal zelizer
February 13, 2015 By bethmordecai no comments.
(2/13/15),
Sometimes inspiration hits you like a bolt of lightning, sometimes it comes after deep introspection and reflection. And at other times, it comes in the shape of a tweet that is 140 characters or less:
Eli Kogan @elikogan 17m17 minutes ago
Shabbat shalom! Candle lighting tonight 5:10 pm (in NYC). Make kiddush not war! ;) Have a great Shabbos!
Make kiddush, not war...
This witty quip particularly resonates with me this week. Perhaps, with a little tongue in cheek, "making kiddush" is associated with the theme of this weekend's national holiday. Or perhaps, more soberly, it's because "war" intimates "violence" and we are coming off a week in which violence has[...]
Category : Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Tag : chapel hill community fellowship kiddush laugh peace rabbi rabbi's journal together valentine's day war
February 9, 2015 By bethmordecai no comments.
"וחי בהם" ולא שימות בהם
(תלמוד בבלי עבודה זרה כח:ב על ויקרא יח:ה)
"And you shall live by them" and not die by them
(Babylonian Talmud Avodah Zarah 27b interpreting Leviticus 18:5)
Dear Hevreh,
Ever since our people left Egypt we have been a nation of "mixed multitudes" (Exodus 12:38) an assortment of individuals and traditions from different backgrounds. Some come to share their unique backgrounds (see Jethro) and some come to experience the uniqueness of Judaism (see Aramaeans eating the Passover sacrifice). No matter the reason though Judaism has always mixed together with people and traditions from different cultures. It is part of our DNA as a wandering people.
Some would[...]
Category : Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Shabbat Tag : backgrounds beauty catholic christian community encounter environment holiness holy interaction interfaith marriage Jewish live other rabbi rabbi's journal shabbat welcoming קדושה
November 14, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
I've experienced many firsts in my time at Beth Mordecai, from lifecycle events to preaching, teaching, and organizing. But none of these firsts can compare to another first that I experienced while being at Beth Mordecai...the first time I became a father.
The wonderful highlights (and rare lowlights) of first year of fatherhood are too numerous and overwhelming to describe in a simple journal. But what I can share is that during this journey, it feels like every step (literally) is a major lifecycle event, every conversation is a chance to teach (and sometimes preach), and every moment is replete with the little details that need to be organized.
And as I reflect on this first year, I realize how Beth[...]
Category : Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Shabbat Tag : birthday celebration community family father grateful gratefulness rabbi rabbi's journal shabbat shabbat message
November 10, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
If I were to tell you that this past weekend I went to New York for "Music! Singing! Dancing!," you might have thought that I was going to the latest Broadway show or some other musical performance. But in fact, along with nearly 15 other members of our congregation, we weren't at a show...we were at shul.
To be exact, we were at Congregation B'nai Jeshrun, one of the largest and most thriving Conservative synagogues in the country. It's a synagogue that started in the late 19th century yet rapidly declined after a heyday around the middle of the 20th century. Then in the early 1980s it hired a charismatic rabbi Marshall Meyer, who was an aide to
Category : home Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Tag : B'nai Jeshrun BJ community dancing inspirational music prayer rabbi rabbi's journal services
September 30, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Let Us Sing Our Songs Together
Rosh Hashanah 5775 – September, 25 2014*
Rabbi Ari Saks
Congregation Beth Mordecai
Picture this. You are an Israelite in approximately 1600 BCE. You, your family, and your people have just escaped the torture and slavery of the Egyptians with the help of God and Moses, and as you turn back from reaching the other side of the Red Sea , you hear the deafening, vicious sound of waves devouring your Egyptian pursuers, until the last of them are no longer seen.
You stand there aghast, not knowing what to say…you are free! After a moment or two of reality sinking in, you feel this overwhelming urge to shout out for joy. To sing praises of thanksgiving, of joy,[...]
Category : Rabbi Rosh Hashanah Sermons Tag : Arukh Hashulkhan Benjamin Segal birds community Expression high holidays joy love mary poppins rabbi Rabbi Irwin Kula reflection Rosh Hashanah sermons shower song song of songs To Rome With Love Unique Songs unique torah vulnerability Woody Allen Yearnings
September 9, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
On Sunday afternoon, our beautiful sanctuary was filled with words that were provocative, engaging, timely, and deeply powerful on the challenges of Israeli-Palestinian peace. They are words that many of us are still digesting, and will continue to digest especially through the High Holidays. They are words that teach us that there can be multiple truths to a single reality, and it is possible (albeit painful) to hold those two truths as equally valid.
And as these powerful words were shared by our guests Rabbi Hanan Schlesinger and Ali Abu Awwad, we were there to listen to them. 115 people from far and wide in the Jewish community of Middlesex community were present in our beautiful sanctuary to hear these[...]
Category : American Jewish News Israeli News Perth Amboy News Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Tag : Ali Abu Awaad community israel israel event Palestine Palestinian peace perth amboy Rabbi Hanan Schlesinger speaker success
September 2, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
This is the first of a three part journal series previewing this Sunday's Israeli-Palestinian speaker event "One Land, Two Worlds, One Painful Hope"
Dear Hevreh,
I'm very excited for this week because it's the leadup to...the first game of the NFL season! Ever since I can remember I've been a big football fan, particularly of the Philadelphia Eagles :). Every year there is the triumph of success and (unfortunately more often than not) the pain of failure. Though there can only be one Super Bowl winner each year, most teams have at least one Super Bowl-like game of the year -- a litmus test for how good the team is compared to a (rival) team that is thought to be much better[...]
Category : Beth Mordecai in the News Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Tag : Beth Mordecai in the News community Eagles Jewish Federation litmus test rabbi rabbi's journal Super Bowl
July 30, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
This is the second of a 3 part journal series previewing different aspects of this Friday night's special Shabbat by the Sea -- Family and Community Edition. The theme for this journal is: partnership
Dear Hevreh,
In one of my journal entries from nearly nine months ago, I used the story of creation in which God created a partner for Adam to show that, according to the wisdom of our tradition, "the only way for humanity to fully enjoy and take advantage of all the potential imbued in creation is when we have partners to work with us because it's not fun to do things alone." This is a teaching that we've applied to much of our programming at Beth Mordecai[...]
Category : Ari-archive Tag : community God's Army Ministries partnership perth amboy rabbi rabbi's journal shabbat by the sea ymca
May 27, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
Last week I talked about how the growth of our community can be seen in our ability to run multiple programs during the weekend. This weekend provides another opportunity for us to display that growth with our Cantor Showcase (Friday 8 pm), Scholar-In-Residence (Saturday 11 am) and Annual Congregational Meeting (Sunday 10 am).
But why should you come out to these events? What's their value to you as an individual and to us as a community?
Over the course of the week I will be sharing individual journal entries about each of these particular programs and events to explain how they represent some of the most exciting and important values of our community. But in the meantime,[...]
Category : Adult Education Cantorial Showcase Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Tag : adult education apple Cantorial Showcase community rabbi rabbi's journal scholar in residence unique torah value your verse