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!
November 20, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
(11/20/14), Most, if not all of us, are aware of the terrible crime committed the other day in a synagogue in Jerusalem. Terrorists murdered a group of Jewish worshippers while the worshippers were standing in the opposite direction -- to the east -- to davven the Amidah, a prayer recited by all Jews everywhere around the world. The symbolism of this horrible moment in an increasingly devastating conflict couldn't be more acute. The davveners were facing towards the center of Jewish worship -- the Temple Mount -- while their murderers attacked in response to purported fears that Jews wanted to take over the Temple Mount for Jewish worship. Despite occasional flare-ups, the fact that Jews pray towards the Temple Mount and Muslims pray[...]
Category : Adult Education Israeli News Jewish Current Events Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Services Shabbat Tag : adult education Amidah david kraemer israeli news jewish current events learning memory outrage rabbi rabbi's journal remember services shabbat
November 14, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
I've experienced many firsts in my time at Beth Mordecai, from lifecycle events to preaching, teaching, and organizing. But none of these firsts can compare to another first that I experienced while being at Beth Mordecai...the first time I became a father.
The wonderful highlights (and rare lowlights) of first year of fatherhood are too numerous and overwhelming to describe in a simple journal. But what I can share is that during this journey, it feels like every step (literally) is a major lifecycle event, every conversation is a chance to teach (and sometimes preach), and every moment is replete with the little details that need to be organized.
And as I reflect on this first year, I realize how Beth[...]
Category : Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Shabbat Tag : birthday celebration community family father grateful gratefulness rabbi rabbi's journal shabbat shabbat message
November 13, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
Hebrew is a wonderful, inspiring, charming, and yet deeply challenging facet of Judaism. It holds many of our greatest secrets and reveals the depths of Jewish wisdom. It is a language that has been dissected and analyzed for ages and much of what we know as Jewish -- from religious laws to cultural practices -- has a source in Hebrew (and particularly the Hebrew found in the Torah).
Yet while it is full of such richness, that richness is hidden behind a veil of strange looking letters, vowels, and symbols that can confound us. And not just us, but our ancestors as well, as in the case of Jews living in the first diaspora community in Alexandria who publicly read[...]
Category : Adult Education Jewish Culture and History Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Tag : adult education anti-semitism bet hebrew alphabet letters rabbi rabbi's journal
November 11, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
(11/11/14),
"The conventions of a number of the States having at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declarator and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best ensure the beneficient ends of its institution"
- Preamble to the Bill of Rights (1789)
Dear Hevreh,
Today we celebrate Veterans' Day, a day in which we recall the sacrifices made (and to be made) by the men and women of our armed services to guard our nation and protect our freedoms. It has often struck me how the language we use in describing our armed services in America (like in[...]
Category : American Jewish News Perth Amboy News Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Tag : america american jewish news Bill of Rights Constitution constriction egypt freedom God kabbalah military mysticism perth amboy perth amboy news power rabbi rabbi's journal Syria tzimtzum
November 10, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
If I were to tell you that this past weekend I went to New York for "Music! Singing! Dancing!," you might have thought that I was going to the latest Broadway show or some other musical performance. But in fact, along with nearly 15 other members of our congregation, we weren't at a show...we were at shul.
To be exact, we were at Congregation B'nai Jeshrun, one of the largest and most thriving Conservative synagogues in the country. It's a synagogue that started in the late 19th century yet rapidly declined after a heyday around the middle of the 20th century. Then in the early 1980s it hired a charismatic rabbi Marshall Meyer, who was an aide to
Category : home Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Tag : B'nai Jeshrun BJ community dancing inspirational music prayer rabbi rabbi's journal services
November 7, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
Before making Perth Amboy my home over two years ago, I lived in Manhattan for 10 of the previous 11 years. It was an amazing time with so many things to do - especially Jewish things - right at my fingertips, Yet, if I really think about what was so amazing, it wasn't that I took advantage of all of the cultural, social, and religious opportunities available to me. Yes, I tried a service here and an experience there, but when you live in a place you can sometimes forget about everything around you when you'rr so busy with work, school, family, and friends. No, what was so amazing is that I KNEW that those experiences were seemingly waiting for[...]
Category : Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Tag : B'nai Jeshrun busy busy lives opportunities perth amboy rabbi rabbi's journal waiting
November 6, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
For better or worse, much of the history of Jewish life in America has revolved around synagogues, whether it's small shtibles in which Jews traditionally prayed three times a day, or larger community centers envisioned by Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, or the current incarnation of homes for Jewish people to gather and share important moments in the calendar year and in their life cycle. And even though there have been attempts to expand the kinds of programming offered at synagogues, the foundational element for synagogues are the religious services provided to the community.
So does this mean that, for better or worses, Jewish identity, so intertwined with synagogue life, is built around services? Is Jewish identity primarily related to our religious[...]
Category : Adult Education Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Tag : adult education jewish identity rabbi rabbi's journal services synagogue
September 19, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
9/19/14,
אע"פ שתקיעת שופר בראש השנה גזירת הכתוב, רמז יש בו, כלומר עורו ישינים משנתכם ונרדמים הקיצו מתרדמתכם (רמב"ם משנה תורה הלכות תשובה ג:ד)ש
Even though the blowing of the shofar on Rosh HaShanah is a Biblical decree, it hints at something, i.e., “Wake up, sleepers, from your sleep! And slumberers, arise from your slumber!" (Maimonides Laws of Repentance 3:4)
Dear Hevreh,
One of the things I'm often working on is how to be more judicious and efficient in using my time effectively. Schedules, planning, and even execution of the tasks at hand only seem to go so far, because as I sat in prayer yesterday I realized that one of the things I often miss when it comes to trying to[...]
Category : Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Rosh Hashanah Tag : blessings david kraemer food high holidays pirkei avot rabbi rabbi's journal rambam Rosh Hashanah shofar
September 16, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
הָיוֹם הָרָת עוֹלָם
Hayom Harat Olam
Today is the birthday of the world
(Rosh Hashanah liturgy)
Dear Hevreh,
According to tradition, Rosh Hashanah is considered to be the "birthday of the world," when God first began the process of creation. Perhaps this tradition teaches us that like our birthdays, the "re-birth" of the year not only gives us a chance to reflect on the year that has gone by, but to be rejuvenated for the year to come with the youthful energy of a newborn who looks at the world and sees the possibilities of what lies before her. In other words, Rosh Hashanah can help us find the kid in ourselves again.
How appropriate then that in this week leading up to Rosh Hashanah we[...]
Category : home Kidz Korner Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Rosh Hashanah Tot Shabbat YJPA Tag : baby naming big tent judaism birthday Jewish Federation kids kidz korner pj library rabbi rabbi's journal Rosh Hashanah Tot Shabbat YJPA youthful energy
September 12, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
Yesterday our country commemorated another anniversary -- the 13th -- of the attacks on September 11th, 2001. This "bar mitzvah" year is no celebration, but as we shared at Perth Amboy's commemoration yesterday it is an opportunity to recall what unifies us together, what makes us uniquely American. For many of our ancestors, America represented a beacon of light that promised a better and more prosperous future for us, their children. And for many of us though not all, that promise of a "goldene medinah (a golden land)" has been fulfilled. Yet, for many, including in our community and in our hometown, that promise is still a dream. If we are one of the lucky ones who feels[...]
Category : Perth Amboy News Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Shabbat Tag : america American perth amboy perth amboy news rabbi rabbi's journal September 11th shabbat message