Posts Tagged ‘rabbi’

rabbi

December 12, 2013
By bethmordecai
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DAY 530: The Practical World of Kashrut

*Note: This message is longer than usual אם רוצה לבשלן יחד ואין שם ס' מותר (יורה דעה קט:ב) If you want to cook together two different kinds of food [that are generally forbidden from one another], and one of the kinds of food is less than 1/60th of the other kind, then the mixture is allowed (Yoreh Deah 98:2) Dear Hevreh, Outside of observing Shabbat, there is probably no greater indicator of Jewish religious observance than keeping kosher (shomer kashrut). Yet even more than simply religious observance, the act of keeping kosher in some capacity indicates our cultural attachment to Judaism. For instance, one person I spoke to recently says "I eat bacon, but I don't eat ham because that's what my father taught[...]

Category : Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Ritual Practice
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rabbi

December 11, 2013
By bethmordecai
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DAY 529: Pictures Are Worth A Thousand Words

Dear Hevreh, No need for words. These pictures show it all. Check our Facebook page tomorrow after 11 am for some more wonderful pictures of the duck race and please make sure to send more to me to post on your behalf! Kol Tuv, Rabbi Ari Saks Pictures -- ducks

Category : Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Rubber Duck Race
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rabbi

November 5, 2013
By bethmordecai
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DAY 493: The Spirit of White Out Friday Night

*Note: This message is a little longer than usual Dear Hevreh, When I experience the need for some musical inspiration I often turn to Spotify, a popular online music sharing service. As I'm sure many of us have, there are a number of different playlists on my Spotify account. However, there is one particular playlist that seems to be on repeat whenever I need some help thinking or writing about a topic (like I'm doing right now). That playlist is simply called "White Out Friday Night." Last winter we ran a new Friday night program in which community members were encouraged to wear white as a symbol of the snow on the ground and the purity and holiness of Shabbat. More than[...]

Category : Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Shabbat White Out Friday Night
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rabbi

October 12, 2013
By bethmordecai
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Parashat Lekh Lekha — Go From Where You Are To Where You Want To Be

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
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rabbi

October 8, 2013
By bethmordecai
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DAY 465: The Importance of Feedback To Knowing What Works

Dear Hevreh, We are still less than a month removed from our High Holiday celebrations as a community, and I hope you are still feeling some of the positive effects of those days together and that they helped make the wisdom of a Jewish tradition come alive for you. I've already heard a good amount of positive and constructive feedback from you on the content and the process of those days, yet in order to make the lessons from those days stick throughout the year, and in order to improve the overall experience of the holidays every year, it is important to know more. That is why this week I will continue to listen to anecdotal feedback through private conversations and[...]

Category : Holidays Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Rosh Hashanah Yom Kippur
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rabbi

September 25, 2013
By bethmordecai
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DAY 452: 5 Reasons to Love Torah

Dear Hevreh, 5 Reasons I love Torah....       #1 -- Every time I look at a piece of Torah, I find something new I never found before      #2 -- Just looking at the letters as they drip with tradition and Godliness is a spiritual experience      #3 -- Who knew that dancing with a scroll could be so much fun?      #4 -- It grounds me, and reminds me to serve a higher purpose greater than myself      #5 -- Recognizing that Torah does not only live in a book; it lives in our hearts, as our own Unique Torah   What are some of the reasons YOU love Torah? What are some of the ways that Torah lives in YOUR heart?    Come join us to explore those questions, and to have a fun[...]

Category : Holidays Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Simhat Torah
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rabbi

September 23, 2013
By bethmordecai
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DAY 450: Finding Meaning (and Vulnerability) in Turning On My Car’s Ignition

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 this[...]

Category : Holidays Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Sukkot
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rabbi


By bethmordecai
no comments.

DAY 450: Finding Meaning (and Vulnerability) in Turning On My Car’s Ignition

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
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rabbi

September 16, 2013
By bethmordecai
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DAY 443: Savoring that Refreshing Feeling

Dear Hevreh, I feel a sense of newness, perhaps even a lightness of spirit, after the Yom Kippur we just celebrated together. I'm not sure if it's specifically because of this year's experience, or if it happens every year (and I just don't remember much about last year!), but regardless it's really a refreshing feeling, one which I will savor as long as I have it. It's refreshing because it gives me a sense of gratitude for what we just accomplished. From the hallowed Kol Nidre to the final Avinu Malkeinu and shofar blast, this Yom Kippur was truly an inspirational experience. There are many people I want to thank for their participation and volunteerism (you can see the list at the[...]

Category : Rabbi's Journal Yom Kippur
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rabbi

August 15, 2013
By bethmordecai
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DAY 411: This is what community is all about…

Dear Hevreh, This is what community is all about... After a wildly successful Shabbat by the Sea this past Friday night, we still managed to make a minyan the next day on Saturday, something that would have been very unlikely not so long ago. This is what community is all about... Last night 16 people got together at the schul for a weekday evening service so a member could say Kaddish on the day of her father's actual yahrtzeit. Through phone calls made by Sherry Weber and the Caring Committee, and through our other outreach efforts especially through Facebook, we showed how our community can come together at a moment's notice. This is what community is all about... Earlier in the day a handful of volunteers[...]

Category : Ari-archive Caring Committee
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