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!
April 20, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
“Splendor can be envisioned as a brilliant varied display, whether of insights, objects or beings. Lovingkindness and compassion also appear ina splendid diversity of types and patterns. Hod sheb'Hesed can be experienced in the astonishing variety of ways Divine care is manifested in the world" (Counting the Omer: A Kabbalistic Meditation Guide, p.54).For other days of the Omer, please click here
Category : Omer Online Learning Tag : care chesed diversity God hesed hod love lovingkindness manifestation omer online learning splendor הוד חסד
January 17, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
2014/5774 (Triennial I) -- Getting "Buy In"
Any successful leader or organization needs the people they serve or emply to "buy in" to the vision they are selling or promoting. Without that buy in, where's the motivation to do the work and to do it together? The same holds true for Moses -- was he able to get buy in from his leaders and from the people to promote the values of the Torah? What's more, how can we who live so many thousands of years after the Revelation of Torah buy into what the Torah is selling? We will discuss these questions and more during today's online parashah class
Category : Online Learning Online Parashah Class Tag : buy in delegate God leadership mission moses online learning online parashah class parsha weekly torah portion yitro
January 10, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
2014/5774 (Triennial I) -- Parashat B'shalah: How Do We and God Interact in this World?
Parashat B'shalah, with it's famous story of the splitting of the Sea of Reeds, seems to teach us how God can come down to the human world and save human beings, like the Israelites. Yet towards the beginning of the parashah in Exodus 13:8, the Torah teaches us that the Isralites left Egypt "armed" (hamushim) -- why would they need to be armed if God was going to save them from the Egyptians? Shouldn't they just have had faith without the need to physically protect themselves? Or does God want us to protect ourselves before stepping[...]
Category : Online Learning Online Parashah Class Tag : armed b'shalach b'shalah b'shallach beshalach beshallach exodus God hamushim interact israelites joseph joshua learning online learning online parashah class parsha pharaoh rabbi arieh trugman souls weekly torah portion
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
December 20, 2013 By bethmordecai no comments.
2013/5774 (Triennial I) -- The Meaning of the Name "Moses" Moses is arguably the most famous man in the entire Bible and his name means so much to so many people. Yet where did his name come from? Is it Egyptian or is it Hebrew? Does it speak about his birth or the life he will live? We will discuss these issues along with a larger conversation about the meaning of names we give to one another in anticipation to tonight's Friday Night Service -- What's In A Name to be held at Beth Mordecai at 8 pm Classes from other years... (2013/5773) Triennial III -- Israel as God's Children --[...]
Category : Online Learning Online Parashah Class Tag : children egyptian exodus God hebrew israel moses online parashah class parsha parshah sh'mot shemot weekly torah portion
September 10, 2013 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
We are in the middle of perhaps, what one member shared in his words yesterday, one "the holiest times of the year." These ten days of repentance, in Hebrew aseret y'mei hat'shuvah (עשרת ימי התשובה) present an opportunity for us to use all of that positive spiritual energy that's been building up through Rosh Hashanah to be a powerful vehicle for the change we want to see in our lives. In picking up on a theme we discussed at our musical Shabbat by the Sea in August, the Talmud teaches us that if we seek God, we can still find God "in the fields" during these 10 days of repentance (Rosh Hashanah, 18a). In other words, God is[...]
Category : Ari-archive Tag : fields God hearts high holidays image of God Rosh Hashanah vulnerability בצלם אלקים
July 12, 2013 By bethmordecai no comments.
2013/5773 (Triennial III) -- Can God Be the Ultimate General? In this week's Parashah, we read Moses' retelling of the Israelites' military victories over other peoples of the ancient near east, and directs the Israelites on which peoples they will defeat in the future. Throughout this re-telling, God plays a central role -- it is not the Israelites' decision on which lands to conquer but rather God's decision based on God's promises to other nations on what lands belong to them. In this regard, God is acting like the Ultimate General, deciding what territory belongs to which people. Can this vision of God as an Ultimate General resonate with us today? Are we in control of our own land or are there other[...]
Category : Online Learning Online Parashah Class Tag : ancient near east d'varim deuteronomy devarim general God israelites online learning online parashah class parasha parashah parsha
July 5, 2013 By bethmordecai no comments.
2013/5773 (Triennial III) -- The Torah's Evolving Understanding of "Others" Double Torah portion: Matot/Ma'asei Much of the Torah focuses (understandably so) on the special relationship between God and Israel. This relationship though is set amidst a background of many other peoples and while some are sympathetic to God and the cause of the Israelites, the majority worship "elohim aheirim," other Gods and act as a terrestrial proxy to the war against God. We will discuss whether these are the only kinds of relationships that Israel and God can have with the nations of the world or whether the Torah itself hints at an evolving relationship among God, Israel, and humanity.
Category : Online Learning Online Parashah Class Tag : God interfaith israel ma'asei ma-asei matot nations parsha parshah weekly torah portion
June 14, 2013 By bethmordecai no comments.
2013/5773 (Triennial III) -- Using God's Sword In this week's Torah portion, Israel destroys nations in its path l'fi harev, "by way of the sword." This term inherently connotes a military victory, one in which soldiers fight for each side. Yet by what right do the Israelites have to use their swords in battle? Does God give them that right and that strength to be victorious in battle or are the Israelites victorious in their own right? We will investigate this question through understanding the term l'fi harev, and by virtue of that discussion talk about what gives us the right and the strength to use the "swords" in our lives. Online Learning Online Parashah Class Tag : chukat chukkat God hukkat learning military online learning online parashah class parsha soldiers Sword
May 31, 2013 By bethmordecai no comments.
2013/5773 (Triennial III) -- One Torah For All? In this week's Torah portion, God commands that all non-Jews, or "strangers" who live with the people of Israel have torah ehat, "one Torah," to live by along with the rest of Israel. To what extent does this mean that Judaism should accept all people into the larger congregation of Israel?
Category : Online Learning Online Parashah Class Tag : echad ehad God israel judaism learning one online learning online parashah class parsha sh'lakh l'kha shelakh lekha torah