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!
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
January 15, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
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 Tag : abraham joshua heschel Adult Learning b'rakhot JCC of Middlesex Martin Luther King Neve Shalom prayer rabbi rabbi eliezer rabbi's journal shul Social Justice synagogue talmud Temple Emanu-El
January 10, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
I have one thought to leave you today. Shabbat is good, so let's share in all of the goodness of Shabbat tonight at shul!
And to kick off the sharing of that goodness...enjoy this song by the great Shlomo Carlebach which we will sing tonight!
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Ari Saks
Photo courtesy of http://www.vosizneias.com/post/read/41137/2009/11/03/new-york-yahrzeit-vin-exclusive-the-man-who-never-died-r-shlomo-carlebach-zl-interview-with-neshama-photos-music-video
Category : Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Shabbat Tag : rabbi rabbi's journal shabbat shlomo carlebach
January 6, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
There are many purposes for being a part of a Jewish community -- to build a social network of friends, to have a place to celebrate and honor lifecycle events, to learn about and experience the wisdom of Judaism, and to experience a connection with God among others. All of these purposes were on display this past Shabbat morning as more than 20 members of our extended community us braved the cold and the snow to help Rachel and I bentsch gomel after last week's accident. As Rachel shared with me later, more significant than the act of reciting gomel is the community that came out to make sure that we could recite gomel. It was a special feeling[...]
Category : Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Shabbat Tag : community gomel kiddush purpose rabbi rabbi's journal shabbat simhah yahrtzeit
January 3, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel writes that Shabbat is a palace in time, a physical abode for the spirit in the hidden reality of time. In short, it's the home for our souls to feel safe and secure from the ravages of the world. This security is not brought on by by being surrounded by the creature comforts of physical things, but by being immersed in the aura of the spiritual realm in which our souls experience the light of God's love for all of creation. That godly light, which our souls transfer to our temporal bodies on moments like Shabbat, not only remind us of God's watchful presence in our lives but helps us experience God in a personal, intimate, and[...]
Category : Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Shabbat Tag : abraham joshua heschel God light palace in time rabbi rabbi's journal shabbat message spirit
January 2, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
There are experiences that leave you breathless in a good way -- getting a job, having a baby, celebrating a simhah -- the seminal moments in your life that you'll not only never forget, but leave you grateful and changed for the better.
Then there are experiences that are unforgettable and leave you breathless...in a bad way; the moments you'll never forget and never wished you had. And while ALL OF US ARE OK AND HEALTHY, Rachel, myself, and our little Jonah experienced one of those moments yesterday.
We were driving normally on the Turnpike to visit Rachel's parents for New Year's Day when all of a sudden we got hit hard by a car from behind us. Our excellent and safe car responded by skidding and[...]
Category : Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Tag : accident gomel rabbi rabbi's journal
December 31, 2013 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
Over the past two months, a small group of us have discussed plans for an adult education program for our community and out of that process has emerged two distinct themes: stories and shtickle.
First, stories. To anyone who has come to Friday night services or read some of my journals (like this one or that one), you'll know that stories are an important aspect of my rabbinate. Not only is storytelling one of the most effective ways of communicating ideas, especially in our culture which has a storied oral tradition, but it also provides an access point for us to share the Unique Torah we've accumulated from our life experiences. And by sharing those stories to access our Unique Torah, we create[...]
Category : Adult Education Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Tag : adult education rabbi rabbi's journal shtickle stories storytelling unique torah
December 30, 2013 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
This is one of my favorite times of the year, and not just because it is the beginning of a new year, but because as an avid football fan it is the beginning of the playoffs of the National Football League as well as Bowl season (which is another type of playoff) for college football. I feel especially joyous because yesterday my favorite football team, thePhiladelphia Eagles, clinched an unlikely spot in the playoffs. The next few weeks will be full of anticipation and excitement as the Eagles, along with 11 other franchises (and their fan bases) vie for a spot in the most widely watched sporting event for the year -- the Super[...]
Category : Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Rubber Duck Race Tag : football new years rabbi rabbi's journal rubber duck race sports teshuvah tshuvah