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!
August 7, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
Last week, I wrote three journal entries previewing this past Friday's Shabbat By The Sea experience with each entry devoted to a theme associated with the event -creative fun,partnership,and wordless music.In looking back at this night, I can't help but see how each of these elements helped made this night a wonderful success.
Creative fun - I don't know about you, but if we have ice cream from Bayside Creamery at each of our events, I'll be there in a heartbeat. Just seeing their little stand waiting for us as we finished our abbreviated service was enough to make your mouth water. It certainly added an element of fun and even a little whimsy to a night of[...]
Category : Ari-archive Tag : bayside creamery creativity God's Army Ministries innovation niggun partnership perth amboy perth amboy news rabbi rabbi's journal shabbat by the sea wordless music
July 29, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
This is the first 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: creativity.
Dear Hevreh,
One of the things I've enjoyed the most over the past few years is being able to creatively work on ways to engage our community together. Whether it's a Cantorial Showcase, aUnique High Holiday Experience, or driving to people's homes to wave the lulav and count the omer, we've run many unique programs that you won't see in other places. Trying something new is exciting, but there is a certain amount of anxiety and[...]
Category : Ari-archive Tag : creativity fun innovation rabbi rabbi's journal shabbat by the sea
April 10, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
As I've often mentioned, we must continually seek to refresh our rituals with creativeinnovation so that they remain relevant for the current generation of Jews. One of the ways in which we've incorporated some of that innovation is in re-imagining the ways to observe and uphold the values of the second days of the holidays. For instance...
we revamped the second day Rosh Hashanah service to be a unique mixture of singing, discussion, meditation, and tradition organized around a particular theme and not lasting longer than two hours.
we drove to the homes of members in the congregation in order to help them fulfill the mitzvah of waving lulav and etrog
we celebrated the stories of our unique Torah at a Rabbi's Tisch[...]
Category : Passover Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Tag : creativity driving innovation omer online yizkor passover rabbi rabbi's journal
August 9, 2013 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh, May this Shabbat connect us to our tradition May this Shabbat connect us to our inner creativity May this Shabbat connect us to the aspiration of our souls May this Shabbat connect us to the joy of Judaism May this Shabbat connect us to our desire to do t'shuvah (repentance) May this Shabbat connect us to the sound of our inner shofar And above all, may the experience of tonight's Shabbat activities connect us with God, with each other, and with ourselves Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi Ari Saks P.S. And one last thing...may the weather for this Shabbat hold out so that we can have Shabbat by the sea :) Photo taken by C. Jill Reed on Flickr -- http://www.flickr.com/photos/mulmatsherm/
Category : Ari-archive Tag : creativity prayer rabbi rabbi's journal repentance shabbat shabbat by the sea souls tradition tshuvah