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!
February 14, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
(2/14/14)
One year after college while I was working at Park Avenue Synagogue as a Torah reader, the leadership of the synagogue decided to celebrate the dedication of their new Torah by bringing in Jewish singer/songwriter Craig Taubman, who created a highly successful "rock concert-like" Friday night service in Los Angeles known as Friday Night Live. I remember attending the event and feeling a powerful energy emanating from the music, the crowd, and the spirit of the evening. I could see why this event, which happens on a regular basis in LA, is called "Friday Night Live" - because it makes Friday night comealive.
Perhaps one day we will be able to bring Craig Taubman or a similar performer to[...]
Category : Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Shabbat White Out Friday Night Tag : craig taubman friday night live park avenue synagogue rabbi rabbi's journal shabbat shabbat message white out friday night
February 13, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
As a child, I loved it when it snowed. It felt like an unexpected gift because not only would it (usually) mean a day off from school, but the sight and feel of snow made me feel happy, even a little whimsical. There is such an indescribable beauty to the whiteness covering the earth that you might even call it spiritual.
Perhaps that spiritual element is embedded in a teaching from Pirkei D'rabbi Eliezer(chapter 3) which states:
הארץ מאי זה מקום נבראת? משלג שתחת כסא כבודו. לקח וזרק על המים ונקפאו המים ונעשו אפר ארץ שנאמר "כי לשלג אמר הוי ארץ" (אויב לז:ו) וכו
From where was the earth created? From the snow underneath [God's] Throne of Glory. God took the[...]
Category : Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Tag : choice judgment kabbalists mercy rabbi rabbi's journal snow zohar
February 7, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
In just a few days many of you will be receiving a thick envelope in the mail from the congregation, if you haven't already. This envelope is not your ordinary shul reminder. It does not contain a bill or a yahrtzeit letter or even a thank you note. No, this envelope constitutes a promise to remember where we came from as we move towards where we are going.
See, this envelope contains all of the information you will need about our upcoming Homecoming Weekend on March 14-16, including highlights (like our Schmooze Cruise and Brunch with Rabbis Barry Dov Schwartz and Melinda Zalma), scheduling, and registration forms. But more importantly, embedded within all of these details is the desire to bring our past closer to our present[...]
Category : Family Shabbat Homecoming Weekend Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Shabbat Tag : future homecoming week letters past present rabbi rabbi's journal shabbat
February 6, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
The last time I wrote to you, I was on my way to a retreat for the purpose of "refresh[ing] my energy and creativity" with some "rabbinic 'soul food'" (DAY 582: Excited For Some Rabbinic "Soul Food"). Well, I'm happy to report that the retreat certainly delivered on its promise. Through talking, socializing, davening, learning, brainstorming, and relationship building, the retreat helped give me that sense of renewal I was looking for.
Each one of us has hopefully experienced a similar sense of renewal when we go away on retreats/trips/conferences and other similar opportunities. Certainly the setting of "getting away from it all" helps make experiences like these so powerful,[...]
Category : Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Tag : interfaith rabbi rabbi's journal rabbis without borders refresh retreat
February 2, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
I've often talked about the need to "recharge our batteries," the importance of making sure that we take the time to refresh ourselves and rejuvenate our spirits to be the professional/parent/spouse/friend/family member, etc. we want to be. I've often talked about this need in the context of spending Shabbat together because Shabbat is designed to be a natural refresher in the midst of our crazy weeks. It is a kind of "soul food" that feeds us when we need some spiritual nourishment.
However, if I'm truly honest with myself, Shabbat isn't as refreshing for me because...I'm often working during Shabbat :). Now don't get me wrong, I love spending Shabbat together. I find our "soul food" of davening, conversations, learning,[...]
Category : Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Tag : rabbi rabbi's journal rabbis without borders refresh retreat
January 31, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
(1/31/14)
As we enter into another Shabbat, another opportunity to spend time together and learn together in community, I want to share a simple thought from the Talmud about the meaning of community:
אין התורה נקנית אלא בחבורה (ברכות סג:)
Eyn ha-Torah nikneit ela b'havurah (B'rakhot 63b)
The knowledge of Torah can only be acquired in a community (Tractate B'rakhot 63b)
There is something unique about the knowledge and secrets embedded in the Torah that, according to this teaching, they can only be revealed when we learn it together. Yes, learning Torah is a fascinating intellectual exercise for the individual, but it becomes something more, something larger, when we open ourselves to hearing the interpretations of other lovers of Torah. And if Torah learning is the foundation[...]
Category : Homecoming Weekend Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Shabbat Tag : community homecoming weekend rabbi rabbi's journal shabbat message torah unique torah
January 28, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
Yesterday I wrote about the importance of setting our priorities to do things that are important but not critical otherwise we might never get to those important items. The specific example I raised about myself is the importance of praying and learning every day. As such, I thought it would be appropriate to share with you some of my learning from yesterday which, ironically, was about the importance of prayer.
Rav Nahman of Breslov writes in his book Likkutei Moharan (2:2) that "prayer is the weapon of the messiah" (k'lei zeyno shel moshiah). One of the examples he brings to prove his point is an interpretation of Genesis 48:22, in which Jacob is on his death bed[...]
Category : Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Tag : baba bathra gemara isaiah learning prayer psalms rabbi rabbi's journal rav nahman of breslov Twitter weapon
January 27, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
I am blessed with the opportunity in my role as your rabbi to make my own schedule, a blessing I treasure especially because I know how many of us are forced to conform to other people's schedules. Yet, no matter how much each one of us is able to choose our schedules, inevitably we are faced with decisions on how to spend our time in which we feel like we our schedule runs our lives as opposed to us running our schedules.
At the beginning of each week, I try to plan how I'm going to spend my time during that week, determining which projects will receive attention and which ones will be put on the back burner. Each week I[...]
Category : Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Tag : learning prayer priorities rabbi rabbi's journal
January 24, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
One of the things I love about our Friday Night service is that in the midst of all the praying and teaching, we take a moment to check in with each other to see how our week has been. I love it because it gives us a chance to be reflective when most of the week we are too active to fully appreciate and realize what we are doing.
It's pretty normal to not find time during the week to be reflective. Just ask God. On occasion God reflected during creation that what God created that day "was good," but it wasn't until the end of the sixth day - Friday night - that God looked back "on all that[...]
Category : Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Shabbat Tag : rabbi rabbi's journal reflection shabbat shabbat message
January 23, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
This past Monday, I had the pleasure and privilege of speaking at the large Cathedral International Baptist Church in Perth Amboy in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Remembrance Day. It was my first experience participating in a southern Baptist, African-American church worship service and I am still thinking about what transpired during those couple of hours. The music, the pageantry, the sermons and speeches that implore you to be an active participant with your voice and your body in the moment, and with your spirit and your energy in fulfilling their messages of social justice in the days and weeks to follow. It was truly an amazing experience.
I was given the task of reflecting on Dr. King's philosophy of non-violence[...]
Category : Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Tag : african-american baptist black cathedral international dr. martin luther king jr. rabbi rabbi's journal tikkun olam