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!
August 14, 2015 By bethmordecai no comments.
(8/14/15),
Dear Hevreh,
I'm always trying to tinker with our Friday night and Saturday morning Shabbat experiences. It could be linking Adult learning with Tot Shabbat as we will do tomorrow morning, or it could bemeals at people's homes as we did in the Spring, or it could be a Family and Community Shabbat by the Sea experience like we'll have at the end of August, or it could be something as simple as having a dedicated Shabbat to celebrate people's smahot (special occasions). The goal is not just to change things up for the sake of change, but to find meaningful, interesting, and creative ways of connecting together as a community.[...]
Category : Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Shabbat Social Media Tag : facebook rabbi rabbi's journal shabbat shabbat message social media
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
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
August 29, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
A poem for tonight's Shabbat by the Sea
The view
Speaks in a language
Only the heart knows
The voice of Adonai thunders over rushing waters (click link, p.7)
The people
Sing in a voice
Only the heart hears
The voice of Adonai stirs the wilderness (click link, p.7)
The time
Whispers in a hush
Only the heart feels
The voice of Adonai echoes with majesty (click link, p.7)
May all who who come to God's eternal sanctuary share together
How vast
How beautiful
How glorious is
Shabbat...
...especially when you're by the Sea
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Ari Saks
Category : Ari-archive Tag : beauty poem rabbi rabbi's journal shabbat shabbat by the sea shabbat message songs
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
January 31, 2014 By bethmordecai no comments.
(1/31/14)
As we enter into another Shabbat, another opportunity to spend time together and learn together in community, I want to share a simple thought from the Talmud about the meaning of community:
אין התורה נקנית אלא בחבורה (ברכות סג:)
Eyn ha-Torah nikneit ela b'havurah (B'rakhot 63b)
The knowledge of Torah can only be acquired in a community (Tractate B'rakhot 63b)
There is something unique about the knowledge and secrets embedded in the Torah that, according to this teaching, they can only be revealed when we learn it together. Yes, learning Torah is a fascinating intellectual exercise for the individual, but it becomes something more, something larger, when we open ourselves to hearing the interpretations of other lovers of Torah. And if Torah learning is the foundation[...]
Category : Homecoming Weekend Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Shabbat Tag : community homecoming weekend rabbi rabbi's journal shabbat message torah unique torah
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 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
December 20, 2013 By bethmordecai no comments.
Dear Hevreh,
Yesterday, I had the honor of officiating at the funeral for Mike Seidel z"l, a past President of Beth Mordecai. It's moments like these that remind me how grateful I am to be your rabbi -- to learn about Mike's humility, perseverance, and love of service (especially as President of Beth Mordecai), and to share some of those stories with his family in the hope that by couching them in Jewish language these stories and anecdotes from Mike's life will help them cope with his passing. I am also grateful for our Jewish tradition that is full of timeless wisdom on how to treat a person on the last stage of life's journey and how to ease family members[...]
Category : Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Tag : death funeral mike seidel names rabbi rabbi's journal shabbat message
November 15, 2013 By bethmordecai no comments.
"In a situation like this, nothing is fast enough. The need is massive, the need is immediate, and you can't reach everyone."- Max Roxas, Interior Secretary of the Phillipines "The international community needs to resist the urge of the savior syndrome, to come in and think they can duplicate the structures [of aid], can do better, can do without the government [of the Phillipines], because that will only worsen the response."- Sara Pantuliano, Head of the Humanitarian Policy Group at the Overseas Development Institute "A time of disaster is a time to help others. It is not a time to think only of self and forget others. It is a time to console and embrace our neighbors. It[...]
Category : Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Shabbat Tag : care caring haiyan lo alekha hamlakha ligmor pirkei avot rabbi's journal shabbat message typhoon לא עליך המלאכה לגמור פרקי אבות