Dr. Mishner's "Memory and Meaning"
03/26/2021 04:05:23 PM
I remember so well March 13, two thousand twenty
Life was good and we had plenty
Then along came THE virus
To sit down beside us
Mentioning Tiger or Babe, you need only one name,
Similarly with THE virus, you need not mention it’s the same
I thought that this cruel joke would last a week or two
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The Bitter Struggle for Hope: Remembering the Shared Philosophy of Dr. Martin Luther King and Dr. Rabbi Abraham Heschel
01/15/2021 02:08:38 PM
On the surface, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel were very different men. Dr. King was an African American preacher and civil rights leader, while Heschel was a rabbi and professor from a Hasidic background in Europe. But upon closer examination, their lives overlapped in a variety of ways.
Both men grew up in hostile environments where racism was a powerful force that affected their people: Dr. King, in...Read more...
Read These 7 Books to Deepen Your Understanding of Race in America
09/10/2020 08:59:50 AM
Beth El hosts "Inclusion and Belonging: Jews of Color" (Thursday, Sept. 10th at 7:00 p.m.), a dynamic virtual panel discussion between parents raising Jews of Color, including Rain Pryor, who will share her story of growing up Jewish, bi-racial, and the daughter of the famous actor-comedian Richard Pryor.
The event is free and open to all, but registration is...Read more...
Beth El's Guide to Tisha B'av
07/29/2020 11:58:37 AM
"As the flames went upward, the Jews made a great clamor, such as so mighty an affliction required, and ran together to prevent it: and now they spared not their lives any longer, nor suffered anything to restrain their force, since that holy house was perishing, for whose sake it was that they kept such a guard about it." So writes Josephus about that fateful day on the Ninth of Av as the smoke from the Holy Temple ascended to the heavens...Read more...
A Reformed Neo-Nazi Skinhead to Speak at Beth El
07/23/2020 04:51:51 PM
Christian Picciolini was just 14-years-old when a man twice his age approached him in an alley. It was an encounter that would set Mr. Picciolini down a path of hatred and violent extremism.
"The year was 1987, and I was smoking a joint," Mr. Picciolini recalled. "The man came up to me, pulled the joint from my lips, looked me in the eyes, and said, that's what the Communists and the Jews want you to do to keep you...Read more...
Joining a Shul During a Pandemic?
05/06/2020 12:03:30 PM
It is not uncommon to get calls about membership at this time of year, as individuals and families begin to think about the High Holidays, school, and a new season of exciting programming at Beth El. We are very fortunate to have a healthy and robust membership and a thriving synagogue community for all ages.
However, when I started getting inquiries this year, I was a bit surprised given the COVID-19 crisis, the closure of Beth El's...Read more...
Advance Directives
04/29/2020 12:32:35 PM
In these strange and uncertain times, many of us have found ourselves confronting mortality in ways we never dreamed of. As we hear stories on the news and in real life of COVID-19 patients separated from loved ones during their last days, we are reminded of the importance of making our end-of-life wishes known to our loved ones and health care providers. This recent article by a doctor in a COVID-19 unit makes a very compelling case for...Read more...
Beth El's Guide to Tu B'Shevat
02/07/2020 02:15:54 PM
Tu B'Shevat is commonly thought of as the "Birthday of the Trees" or the "Jewish Earth Day."
In 2020, the "Birthday of the Trees" begins at sundown on Sunday Feb. 9 and ends at sundown on Monday Feb. 10.
The name of this festival comes from its date: "Tu" is a pronunciation of the Hebrew letters for...Read more...
The Stranger
11/18/2019 08:47:28 PM
The following is a text version of Rabbi Steve Schwartz's Shabbat sermon from November 16th, 2019.
It was 42 years ago this fall that I asked my mom to drive me to the Oakdale Mall, in Binghamton, New York, where I walked into Tower Records and bought the first rock and roll album of my life. Knowing me as many of...Read more...
Strong Winds
11/18/2019 08:34:54 PM
With a promise of winter a stiff and chilly wind blew in from the east this morning, doing its best to wrest the last leaves off the trees and drying the ground from last night's rain. I stood for a time at an upstairs window looking out over our back yard. My eyes were level with the tops of the trees. The evergreens and the...Read more...