Posts Tagged ‘JCC of Middlesex’

JCC of Middlesex

April 17, 2015
By bethmordecai
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DAY 1021: Light Shining Through the Darkness

(4/17/15), This week is not an easy week for the Jewish people. Yom Hashoah uGvurah (Day of Holocaust Remembrance and Resistance) is a solemn occasion in which we recall the chaos of the murder of six million Jews at the hands of the Nazis. As I expressed during the Yom Hashoah commemoration at the JCC on Wednesday night, there is no good or easy way to explain or understand the chaos. All we can do is engage in rituals -- candle lighting, readings, music, and storytelling -- to help make some order out of the chaos, to help find the light amidst the darkness. The juxtaposition of light and darkness was not only seen through the smiling faces of clergy[...]

Category : Rabbi Rabbi's Journal
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JCC of Middlesex

September 4, 2014
By bethmordecai
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kDAY 796: This Sunday: A Litmus Test For…Jewish Middlesex County

This is the second of a three part journal series previewing this Sunday's Israeli-Palestinian speaker event "One Land, Two Worlds, One Painful Hope" Dear Hevreh, A year in a half ago, in the spring of 2013, we participated in a wonderful event celebrating the birthday of the State of Israel. There were lots of activities for families, some excellent food, a concert, and some learning. We strongly advertised for and we had a good turnout -- It was a terrific event for our community. And by the way...it was held at Neve Shalom in Metuchen. Someone once told me rather facetiously that if they had it their way, we should "lock the doors" when people come into the synagogue, as a way of[...]

Category : Middlesex Jewish News Rabbi Rabbi's Journal
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JCC of Middlesex

January 15, 2014
By bethmordecai
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DAY 564: Praying Is Not Just For Shul

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
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