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!
June 20, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
*Note: This message is longer than usual
Dear Hevreh,
I do not think Facebook is a great source for news. Not only is it hard to find posts posted not less than a week ago, but more importantly the posts I am able to read is not a representative sample of the news that's available for me to read. On one level this is my fault because though I may try, my circle of friends and colleagues is not broad enough to include all of the viewpoints I might need to hear. (That being said, is it realistic to work at being "Facebook friends" with complete strangers just to broaden my news feed? I know that the term "friend" is used loosely[...]
Category : Israeli News Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Social Media Tag : facebook israel israeli news jewish people kidnapped klal yisrael peoplehood rabbi rabbi's journal social media teens terrorists
June 18, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
Last week I was sitting at a table in the Menlo Park Mall for my weekly open "Ask the Rabbi" when I received a phone call from John*, a local resident who has come to me in the past for help with homelessness. Here is a not-so-exact version of our conversation:
Me: "Hi, John"
John: "Rabbi, are you at the mall?"
Me (a little surprised): "Um, yea."
John: "In the food court?"
Me: "Yes"
John: "Where? I don't see you?"
Me (turning around and seeing him): "Look behind you."
It turns out that John and some of his friends his saw the advertisement for "Ask the Rabbi" in the local paper and thought that instead of only coming to my door to ask for help in a crisis,[...]
Category : Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Tag : ask the rabbi homelessness maimonides rabbi rabbi's journal stories tz'dakah tzedakah צדקה
June 17, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
(6/17/14),
The wonderful thing about being outside for services, like at Shabbat by the Sea, is experiencing the natural splendor of creation around us. The challenging thing about being outside for services is that sometimes the natural splendor of creation is not so splendid at all. This past Friday, as we made plans to pray outside, the weather had other ideas -- a downpour arriving close to the beginning of our service forced us to remain indoors, leading our Shabbat by the Sea to become Shabbat in the Sanctuary.
Yet despite the change of scenery, we not only managed to adapt to our new surroundings but we took full advantage of them, whether that was dancing out the front doors[...]
Category : Ari-archive Tag : adaptability adapting memorable nature planning prayer rabbi rabbi's journals shabbat by the sea splendor weather yiddish
June 13, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
Today I had the privilege of traveling to Washington Heights in NYC to attend the bris of my cousin's newborn son. It's always enjoyable to be a part of a simhah and see the joyous faces of my cousin, his wife, and the new grandparents. But it was the reaction from my grandparents who were welcoming their second great grandchild into the family that really made this day special. Their happiness, their joy at being able to reach this occasion of having multiple great-grandchildren was palpable. It reinforced for me the notion that as we get older we become more appreciative of every moment we have and especially of every simhah we enjoy. Life becomes an experience to cherish as the gift that it is. So thank[...]
Category : Ari-archive Tag : gift life mommom poppop rabbi rabbi's journal shabbat shabbat by the sea shehehiyanu שהחיינו
June 11, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
One of the joys of being in Perth Amboy is living near the Raritan Bay. Years ago the beaches of Sadowsky Parkway were lined by sun-bathers and sand-castle builders -- it was the Jersey shore before the Jersey shore. Yet even though the tourists may have left, the breathtaking views and the pleasant environment remain. Yes, living by the Raritan Bay here in Perth Amboy is a joy, and you can feel that joy at its apex when we gather in Bayview Park for Shabbat by the Sea.
Shabbat by the Sea, especially by this sea, affords us an opportunity to return to the roots of the Friday night Kabbalat Shabbat service, when Jews would leave their little shtibels and go out in the fields to[...]
Category : Ari-archive Tag : awesome jersey shore nature perth amboy rabbi rabbi's journal raritan bay sanctuary shabbat by the sea splendor
June 10, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
Over the past few years, our congregation has made some great strides in building the bonds and relationships that form the foundation of our tight knit Jewish Home for the Soul. Yet, as it has often been mentioned, if we're going to continue to thrive then we need to grow as a congregation. If we're going to continue to prosper, then we need to reach out to attract more people to be a part of our congregation.
So what does our approach to outreach look like? It looks like what's happening this week...
This past Saturday morning, we welcomed the Levy family, who are affiliated with Cantor Avima Darnov's hebrew school called "The Hebrew Corner," and their guests into our sanctuary[...]
Category : Ari-archive Tag : bar and bat mitzvah big tent judaism Cantorial Showcase hebrew corner Jewish Federation jewish outreach institute joi outreach rabbi rabbi's journal shabbat by the sea unaffiliated young people
June 6, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
As we come out of a holiday full of meaningful Torah learning, I am reminded that no matter how enjoyable, how meaningful, or how special Torah learning can be it is not always easy to find the time to continue our learning. The blessing we are supposed to recite before learning Torah -- Barukh Attah Adonai Eloheinu Melekh Ha-Olam Asher Kid'shanu B'mitzvotav V'tzivanu La-asok B'divrei Torah (Blessed Are You God King of the Universe Who Has Sanctified Us with Your Commandments and Commanded Us To Busy Ourselves With the Words of Torah) -- teaches us that like any business or occupation, Torah learning needs our time and effort.
Yet, how often do we actually busy ourselves with Torah? If we're[...]
Category : Bar and Bat Mitzvah Bar Mitzvah Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Shabbat Shavuot Tag : avima darnov bar and bat mitzvah hebrew corner partnership rabbi rabbi's journal rabbis shabbat shavuot torah
June 3, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
During this past Shabbat and Annual Meeting, I shared my philosophy of Unique Torah -- how the Unique Stories of our lives can turn into the teachings of our Unique Torah when we share it and connect it so something greater than ourselves. This philosophy is not only predicated on expanding the definition of "Torah" from the Torah read on the bimah to the Torah (i.e. teachings) we learn from our relationships and our personal experiences of life, but also to seeing this expanded definition of Torah as having the potential to be exalted, godly, and divine, as if it was also revealed by God at Mt. Sinai.
As such, our celebration of Shavuot, in which we recall how[...]
Category : Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Shavuot Tag : mt. sinai rabbi rabbi's journal torah unique stories unique torah
By bethmordecai no comments.
*Sermon for Friday night of "Cantor Showcase of Unique Torah" (Shabbat prior to Shavuot) – May 30, 2014
Our Unique and Godly Torah
Rabbi Ari Saks
Some of you may remember a story my father told during my installation on this same bimah over a year and a half ago. I was a little boy in Benton Harbor and my father and I had just come back from shul on Simhat Torah. As we approached home I started making a frantic pointing motion in a not-so-specific direction (with the requisite grunting of a child). So my father, in attempting to respond my neediness, took me on a walk trying to follow my random pointing. Eventually we ended up back at shul where my pointing got[...]
Category : Bulletin Articles Cantorial Showcase Holidays home Rabbi Sermons Shabbat Shavuot Tag : bulletin articles Cantorial Showcase godly holidays neil gillman norman lamm pirkei avot potential rabbeinu yonah rabbi revelation sermons shabbat shavuot unique torah
May 30, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
Each of us has a journey, a path that takes us from one place to another but, like the Israelites through the desert, that path is often more circuitous than straight. Why? Why can't our journeys be straight and direct? Perhaps because though circuitous every stop is purposeful, full of meaning. The people we meet, the places we visit, the food we eat, every experience of life has something to teach us so that at the end of that convulated journey we become the people we are meant to be. And when we see make meaning of each of those experiences, when we tie our Unique Stories into the greater meaning of life -- God, Judaism, eternity, faith --[...]
Category : Cantorial Showcase Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Tag : Cantorial Showcase history Jewish scientists jose lopez journey pictures rabbi rabbi's journal story unique stories unique torah