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 1, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Parashat D’varim 2014/5774 (Triennial 1): “Many Hands Make Light Work”:The Importance and Challenge of Delegating
In any position of leadership, it is important to be skillful in delegating authority. In this week’s Torah portion as we begin the book of Deuteronomy, Moses recounts how he “cannot bear the burden [of the people of Israel] himself” (Deuteronomy 1:9) and how he set out to delegate responsibility to other chiefs of Israel. This is not the first time that the Torah recounts Moses’ attempt to delegate responsibility (Exodus 18:13-27 and Numbers 11:11-15). How are these accounts similar to or different from each other? What do each of them uniquely teach[...]
Category : Online Learning Online Parashah Class Tag : d'varim delegating deuteronomy devarim God Jethro leaders leadership moses online learning online parashah class responsibility דברים
May 14, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
"Investors bet on people, not on business plans, because they know successful people will find a way to be successful."
- Ed Nicoll, self-made multi-millionaire
Dear Hevreh,
What makes a successful community? It's not the programs we run or the funds we raise, it's the people who participate and see the activities of the community as an extension of their own stories and their personal desires, values, and ambitions that make up their Unique Torah. People won't invest or participate because of the program, they will invest and participate because of the people behind the program.
There are so many wonderful people, caring people, honest and hardworking people who are invested deeply in our community. As we seek to grow our community,[...]
Category : Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Tag : annual congregnational meeting community building leadership people programs rabbi rabbi's journal unique torah
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
December 18, 2013 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
Last Friday night, I told a story about a Jewish man from Prague who goes to Vienna to find a treasure that he sees in his dreams. Once he gets to Vienna he is told, in a roundabout way, that the treasure he was looking for was under his house in Prague all along. Yet, if it wasn't for the man's trip out of his home, he would never have discovered the treasure in his home. I used this story as a launching pad to talk about the "treasure" of Beth Mordecai, the special-something inside our congregation that we sometimes have to discover by going outside our walls, like the Rubber Duck Race at the YMCA.
Yet no matter where these experiences take place, many of us have experienced a[...]
Category : Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Tag : board of trustees leadership rabbi's journal
October 12, 2013 By bethmordecai no comments.
Rabbi Ari Saks Sermon for Parashat Lekh L’kha – October 12, 2013* Installation Weekend of Rabbi Moshe Saks Temple Israel, Scranton PA I want to thank the leadership team and my father, my Abba, Rabbi Moshe Saks, for extending the invitation to speak this morning about Parashat Lekh L’kha. But before I begin, I wanted to share a quick observation about my Abba, which you may or may already not know. He’s a man who loves logistics. He loves figuring out how to get from point A to point B, sometimes when you don’t even ask him to. My wife Rachel and I have developed a routine when talking to my Abba about making plans to come visit him, my Ema, and my sister[...]
Category : Rabbi Sermons Shabbat Tag : Abraham Abram leadership lekh l'kha lekh lekha Philadelphia Eagles rabbi Rabbi Moshe Saks sermons shabbat Temple Israel
May 17, 2013 By bethmordecai no comments.
2013/5773 (Triennial III) -- In It Together Much is made about leadership. If you have a good captain of the ship, then the ship will be good. But perhaps the Torah teaches that it does not work that way. In preparation for this week's General Board meeting, watch this week's Parashah class as we explore a NEW way to look at leadership and communal action.
Category : Online Learning Online Parashah Class Tag : community leadership learning naso nasso online learning online parashah class parsha