Hiddur Mitzvah: The Proops Machzor (c. 1750)
08/30/2019 07:42:06 PM
By: Ben Kreshtool, Ritual Director
There are few texts more moving in Jewish ritual practice than the liturgy of the High Holy Days. Year after year, the familiar melodies and beautiful, ancient words inscribed within the machzor evoke within us feelings of awe and humility.
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Selichot: Getting into the “Zone” for the High Holy Days
08/30/2019 07:28:33 PM
By: Cantor Thom King
Preparing ourselves for the Days of Awe can be a daunting task. Like most Jewish celebrations, the High Holy Days never seem to come at the right time. They always seem to sneak up on us, and we're never quite ready when they arrive. On Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, we're...Read more...
Rabbi Saroken's High Holy Day Reflection
08/30/2019 07:21:54 PM
Dear Beth El family,
Every summer, I inevitably have the same bad dream about the High Holy Days: Rosh Hashanah has arrived, and I realize, just as the sun is setting - when it's too late to do any more work - that I'm one sermon short. I'll have to stand before our Beth El community of...Read more...
Uninhibited Joy: How to Recreate Yourself During the High Holy Days
08/26/2019 06:28:10 PM
By: Brandon Chiat, Digital Media Strategist
A fundamental principle of Judaism is that every person has the opportunity to create themselves. In that sense, the High Holy Days are touchstone moments when a person should take stock of their growth.
“Rabbi...Read more...
Why and How to Pre-Plan Your Jewish Funeral
08/23/2019 03:00:15 PM
Surely you're familiar with the adage: failing to plan is planning to fail. You're likely great at planning things you enjoy, like vacations or life's celebratory milestones.
But when it comes to pre-planning your Jewish funeral, you'd prefer to procrastinate....Read more...
The Old Knuckle Curve
08/19/2019 08:44:33 PM
If you are a baseball fan, you know that the game has lost some of its subtlety in recent years. Today's baseball is largely about power, namely, power pitching, and power hitting. Pitchers routinely throw fastballs in the high 90's, and to see 97 miles an hour on the old radar gun...Read more...
On the Power of Words and Tweets
08/14/2019 02:50:45 PM
People often refer to Jews as the "People of the Book," but we might also just as well be called the "People of the Word," or maybe better to say the "People of Words." We are great talkers, conversationalists, and communicators. We like to talk so much we are known for talking...Read more...
The Work of Our Hands
08/14/2019 02:17:31 PM
Beth El Hires Bekah Waltemeyer as Development Associate
08/07/2019 08:12:54 PM
BALTIMORE, MD. (August 9th, 2019) " Beth El Congregation of Baltimore announced today the hiring of Bekah Waltemeyer to serve as Development Associate. She joined the development team on July 29th, 2019.
“I chose to work at Beth El because of the synagogue's outstanding reputation for being an...Read more...
Shloshim: My Thirty Days of Mourning at Beth El
07/24/2019 06:30:17 PM
By: Jo-Anne Tucker-Zemlak
On June 21, I lost my beloved life partner and husband, David Kaplan. While I'm a “regular” at Shabbat eve services, David was not, nor was he the “davening” kind, but rather the epitome of “menchlachkeit” and loyalty, honesty and devotion"that was...Read more...