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!
April 4, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
When I was in rabbinical school, we talked a good deal about the language we use to describe our communities. One of the terms that got tossed around a lot was "family." It's a word that connotes a feeling of closeness, of connection, of security, and of a deep and powerful bond that holds us together. Yet there is a certain amount of poetic license in describing our synagogue community as a family. Not only are most of us not related, but despite the close bonds that some of us feel with one another, do we really have such strong ties that each of us would call each other "family"?
Personally, I've tried to be cognizant of how often I describe[...]
Category : Family Shabbat Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Shabbat Tag : aspiration comfort family family shabbat intergenerational rabbi rabbi's journal shabbat support wisdom
March 21, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
(3/21/14)
I don't know about you but there aren't many ways we can top last Homecoming Shabbat. The excitement, the energy, the food, the fun, it's hard to replicate what took nearly a year to create.
But that's ok, because Shabbat doesn't need replication; Shabbat just needs to be repeated.
Every week is full of different experiences and different adventures in our lives. Some are good, some are bad, some are indifferent, some are exciting, but each one is unique and adds another layer to the stories of our lives. Shabbat comes at the end of each week to help us process and appreciate the story we just added that week to our unique life experience, to our unending Unique Torah.
So come share[...]
Category : Homecoming Weekend Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Shabbat Tag : homecoming weekend rabbi rabbi's journal shabbat unique torah
February 20, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
While many of our traditional prayers date back nearly 1700 years to the time of themishnah, there are elements of our "traditional" liturgy that date only 500 or so years ago to the time of the mystics (m'kubalim) in the holy city of Tzfat. What's amazing is not necessarily that these "modern" prayers, most notably L'kha Dodi and the creation of theKabbalat Shabbat service have been accepted into our traditional liturgy, but that they were universally done so within a single century! For a world in which ancient is defined as yesterday's Twitter feed, a century may seem like a long time for a a prayer service to go "viral." But seen in context of a liturgy that hasn't changed substantially in nearly 1700 years,[...]
Category : Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Shabbat White Out Friday Night Tag : rabbi rabbi's journal shabbat soul mate white out friday night y'did nefesh ידיד נפש
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
By bethmordecai no comments.
This Week's Online Parashah Class: Parashat Ki Tissa -- From Cannabis To Shabbos: Does Judaism Embrace or Control Our Desires?
2014/5774 (Triennial I) -- From Cannabis To Shabbos: Does Judaism Embrace or Control Our Desires?
Religion is often seen as a "conservative" movement that focuses its efforts on restricting our behaviors. However, is it possible that religion actually helps us embrace our desires rather than trying to make them go away? Should we make use of all there is to offer in this world, or are[...]
Category : Online Learning Online Parashah Class Tag : desires incense ki tisa ki tissa marijuana online learning online parashah class parsha shabbat song of songs weekly torah portion yetzer hara yetzer hatov
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
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 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
December 6, 2013 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh, I have yet to fully experience it as a father, but I've heard that there is nothing like the joy of a kid playing with his or her rubber duck in a bathtub. If you need any proof of this, just askErnie from Sesame Street. The smile that lights up on a child's face as their little toy floats on this incredible source of life substance we call "water" is priceless. In fact, it is probably the echo of this joy that inspired the popularity of Rubber Duck Race fundraisers like ours on Sunday beginning around 3 pm at the YMCA of Raritan Bay (357 New Brunswick Avenue). Rubber Ducks and water just go really well together. We'll[...]
Category : Rabbi's Journal Rubber Duck Race Shabbat Tag : bathtub ernie family shabbat nelson mandela rabbi's journal rubber duck race sesame street shabbat water ymca