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 11, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
Sometimes we tend to overthink, whether it's in our decision making or in our planning. We can get so caught up in the possibilities of what we can do and, at least in the case of our synagogue programming, trying to be innovative. Sometimes we spend too much time thinking about how to dress up the cover of the "book" we want to teach to make it shinier and more beautiful so more people pay attention. Yet, as is often the case, the most successful way to teach -- or to program or to plan -- is to keep it simple. As is often the case, the most successful way to teach is simply to open the book.
This past[...]
Category : Kidz Korner Perth Amboy News Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Tag : book children God's Army Ministries innovation kidz korner learning opening rabbi rabbi's journal simple simplicity torah
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
March 23, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
This past Shabbat, I spoke about the importance of innovation, in our programming and in our mission building, to not only keep the content of our community fresh but to build excitement in our community for trying new and innovative ways of engaging Judaism. Today, is a day devoted to fulfilling that promise of being innovative.
This morning, I will join our esteemed executive director Elliot Rubin at a half-day conference run by United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism to bring small congregations together to talk about best practices and share ideas on how to run our organizations more effectively. As small congregations we share many of the same challenges, like membership growth and retention, programming breadth, and depth of[...]
Category : Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Tag : elliot rubin faith traditions innovation interfaith families small congregations united synagogue wisdom
September 23, 2013 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh, I could be mistaken, but I don't think many of us find the act of starting our cars a meaningful moment in our day. For those who drive regularly, it is a mundane occurrence that we don't think about (until that inopportune moment when our cars won't start). Yet there I was, sitting in my car on Friday morning, about to turn on the ignition and feeling lots of butterflies in my stomach as if I was walking into a room full of teenagers. All of a sudden, a simple act that I have done countless times in my life became a spiritual test, full of meaning. Why was this ignition start different than all other ignition starts? Because[...]
Category : Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Sukkot Tag : car innovation meaning rabbi rabbi's journal sukkot vulnerability
September 12, 2013 By bethmordecai no comments.
Rabbi Ari Saks Congregation Beth Mordecai High Holidays Bulletin Article, 5774 Last Friday, for the second day of Rosh Hashanah, we had a special and unique High Holiday experience that was not the normal, traditional service. The order of the service was different, there was no Torah service, and we had opportunities for discussion and some dancing, in addition to some other innovative methods used to enhance our Rosh Hashanah experience. Overall, the feedback has been that it was a fun and meaningful service. Yet the service would never have been possible if it were not for a combination of a unique quirk of the Jewish calendar and the unique customs in which we observe our holidays. The unique quirk of the Jewish calendar is the existence[...]
Category : Bulletin Articles Passover Rabbi Rosh Hashanah Sh'mini Atzeret Shavuot Simhat Torah Sukkot Yom Kippur Tag : 5774 attendance diaspora etrog halakhah high holidays history innovation israel Jewish calendar jewish law lulav mission lulav and etrog passover pesach pesah rabbi's tisch Rosh Hashanah sh'mini atzeret shemini atzeret simchat torah simhat torah sukkot torah unique high holiday experience Yom Kippur
November 19, 2012 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh, This afternoon I had the pleasure of spending some quality time with Reverend Ann-Marie Jeffrey, the spiritual leader of St. Peter's Episcopal Church, our partner institution for tomorrow (Tuesday) night's Interfaith Thanksgiving service @ 7 pm @ Beth Mordecai (REFRESHMENTS INCLUDED!). While we spent part of the time working on the finishing touches of our innovative service for tomorrow, we spent the majority of time just...talking. We talked about our calls to service, about the Bible, about the afterlife, about the nature of religious institutions, and so on and so forth. It was a wonderful conversation because for a moment the daily grind of emails, phone calls, and obligations disappeared. For a moment the mundane was replaced by the[...]
Category : Perth Amboy News Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Tag : conversation innovation interfaith service Reverend Anne-Marie Jeffery st. peter's thanksgiving