Posts Tagged ‘synagogue’

synagogue

August 15, 2016
By bethmordecai
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DAY 1506: No Synagogue Required

Dear Hevreh, Yesterday (Sunday) I had the pleasure of spending the end of Tisha B'av learning Torah with a number of 20s and 30s who live in Highland Park. Many topics were included in this marathon of learning including... how Tisha B'av implores us to feel the pain of historical collective trauma, how we struggle with understanding why bad things happen to seemingly good people, and how our love affair with Jerusalem revolves around lamenting its destruction and hoping for its rebirth (among other topics). The conversation was stimulating, variegated, and incisive because we weren't shy to share our own perspectives - our Unique Torah - and we weren't afraid to listen and be moved by the teachings of[...]

Category : home Rabbi Rabbi's Journal
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synagogue

January 21, 2016
By bethmordecai
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DAY 1300 — The Joy of Skipping from Shul to Shul, from Home to Home

Reflection on last week's Friday night service and this week's upcoming storm... "דומה דודי לצבי" (שיר השירים ב:ט), מה צבי זה מדלג מהר להר מבקעה לבקעה מאילן לאילן ומסוכה לסוכה מגדר לגדר, כך הקב"ה מקפץ מבית הכנסת זה לבית הכנסת זה מבית מדרש זה לבית מדרש זה. כל כך למה? כדי לברך ישראל. - שיר השירים רבה פרשה ב "My beloved is like a gazelle" (Song of Songs 2:9), Just as a gazelle skips from mountain to mountain, valley to valley, tree to tree, and dwelling to dwelling, fence to fence, so too the Holy One Blessed Be He skips from this synagogue to that synagogue, from this house of study to that house of study. Why? In order to bless Israel. - Song[...]

Category : Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Shabbat
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synagogue

November 6, 2014
By bethmordecai
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DAY 859: Services and Identity — Previewing Tonight’s 1st Installation of the Adult Education Series “A Little Schtickala of Yiddishkeit”

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
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synagogue

January 15, 2014
By bethmordecai
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DAY 564: Praying Is Not Just For Shul

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[...]

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