The Sabbath, a Day of Waste?

by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 4, 2023 | God, Psalms, Shabbat

By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz Psalm 29 (The Israel Bible, pp. 1503-1504) is special in a deep way. Even though it is only 11 verses, it contains the name of God 18 times. 18 is an auspicious number in Judaism. The gematria (numerical value) of 18 equals chai (חי), meaning...

Two Ways to Encounter God Here on Earth

by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 6, 2022 | Education, God, Prayer, Psalms

A few years ago, I was in Tel Aviv visiting a friend. After a pleasant afternoon, I decided to have a coffee at a sidewalk cafe before heading home. I was engaging in people-watching when I noticed that someone was watching me in return. A young man with tiny...

The High Holidays: Everyone’s Holiday

by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 3, 2022 | Faith, God, Jonah, Light Unto the Nations, Prayer, Repentance, Rosh Hashana, Sukkot, Temple, Tishrei, Yom Kippur, Zechariah

By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz When I think about the High Holidays, I picture synagogues full of Jews, the men wrapped in snow-white prayer shawls swaying silently, the women praying fervently. They are Jewish holidays and the pinnacle of the Hebrew calendar. These are...

Three Things We Must Renew Daily

by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 21, 2022 | Faith, God, Israel, Ki Tavo, Marriage and Relationships, Parenting, Repentance, Rosh Hashana

By Chaim Barzel We have all made New Year’s resolutions: to eat healthier, to get to sleep earlier, to make up with an old friend, etc. That is because the new year is a time of renewal. A new year means the opportunity to start over, and this year we want to do...

The True Day of Rest

by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 27, 2022 | Community, God, Shabbat, Vayakhel

The fourth of the Ten Commandments instructs the Children of Israel to observe Shabbat on the seventh day because God Himself created the world in six days and rested on the seventh (Exodus 20:8-11). This mitzvah (Torah commandment) is repeated in many places...