Shining A Light
11/18/2019 08:26:05 PM
The following is a text-version of the remarks Rabbi Steve Schwartz delivered before the special performance of Freedom Song, a play that explores the issue of addiction in the Jewish community.
During my now more than two decades in the rabbinate I have become intimately familiar with the terrible...Read more...
Changing Clocks
11/18/2019 08:22:36 PM
By: Rabbi Steve Schwartz
It has always been a bit odd to me that we decide, on a given night in early November, to just switch the time on our clocks, setting them back an hour. And then, in the spring, to change them all back. Is time that malleable? Is our power over time that simple? It...Read more...
Changing Clocks
11/18/2019 08:20:26 PM
By: Rabbi Steve Schwartz
It has always been a bit odd to me that we decide, on a given night in early November, to just switch the time on our clocks, setting them back an hour. And then, in the spring, to change them all back. Is time that malleable? Is our power over time that simple? It...Read more...
Giving Thanks: Beth El Members Express Gratitude Through Chesed
11/18/2019 08:13:20 PM
By: Brandon Chiat, Digital Media Manager
The Hebrew word "chesed" does not have a direct English translation. Commonly understood to mean loving-kindness, the Torah presents chesed as an ideal to which the Jewish people might aspire, a blueprint for how to treat one another.
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New Frontiers in Robotics Technology: A Conversation with Dr. Alon Wolf
11/08/2019 06:54:58 PM
Dr. Alon Wolf is one of the world's foremost inventors, researchers, and educators in the cutting-edge field of robotics. After receiving his bachelor's, masters, and doctoral degrees in mechanical engineering at Israel's prestigious Technion University, Dr. Wolf was involved in work at the University of Pittsburgh's...Read more...
Between a Rock and a Strawberry: This Grateful Life
11/06/2019 04:47:40 PM
Gratitude is a central theme of Thanksgiving. As we approach the Thanksgiving season, Rabbi Benjamin Shalva shares his insights on the Mussar (character) trait for gratitude: HaKarat HaTov (literally,“recognizing the good”). Benjamin Shalva is a rabbi, writer, yoga instructor, meditation teacher, and musician. He...Read more...
TEACHER SPOTLIGHT: J. Michael "Mikey" Hess Webber
11/06/2019 04:15:46 PM
J. Michael "Mikey" Hess Webber teaches Kitah Vav (6th Grade) in Beth El's Berman-Lipavsky Religious School. Rabbi Webber is in her fourth year at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and also serves as the Rabbinic Educator at Towson University Hillel.
What inspires you to live a rich and meaningful Jewish life?
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A Tribute to Rabbi Seymour Essrog
10/30/2019 08:24:52 PM
The following is a text version of Rabbi Steve Schwartz's talk at Congregation Adat Chaim's Rabbi Seymour Essrog Memorial Lecture (Friday, October 25th, 2019).
Let me first thank Toby for the invitation to be here tonight, and the opportunity to share some thoughts with you and pay tribute to my friend of...Read more...
Let Freedom Sing: National Touring Play Crushes the Stigma of Addiction
10/30/2019 07:57:51 PM
By: Brandon Chiat, Digital Media Manager
"Our story is the Jewish response to addiction," explained Jessica Fishel, Producer of Freedom Song, a play that depicts personal stories of addiction against the backdrop of a Passover Seder.
The performance begins with a clarification: "The stage is not a...Read more...
Eternal Songs
10/23/2019 08:31:48 PM
The following is a text version of Rabbi Steve Schwartz's Shabbat sermon from October 12th, 2019, a reflection about Robert Hunter, lyricist for the Grateful Dead.
Those of you who are obituary readers may remember that just about three weeks ago, a man named Robert Hunter died. It is likely you had never heard...Read more...