D'VAR TORAH | OCTOBER 20, 2023
10/20/2023 12:07:26 PM
We love to tell the story of parashat Noach to our children, and what’s not to love? There are cute animals. There is a 40-day cruise. There is a rainbow at the end of it all. But truth be told, at the end of it all, it is a deeply challenging story. It begins with God deciding to start all over by wiping out humanity, except for Noah and his family. God chose Noah because he was “an ish tzadik tamid hayah b’dorotav, he was a righteous...Read more...
Shabbat WELCOME | OCTOBER 13
10/15/2023 09:51:00 AM
Shabbat Shalom. One of my rabbis always said that Shabbat comes when we need it most. And in this moment, I need Shabbat, and I imagine you do too.
This past week has been an emotional rollercoaster for so many of us, as we sit with our despair and our collective pain. Because whether or not we know someone personally in Israel, we are all family, connected as Klal Yisrael, the community of Israel. And that means that if one of...Read more...
TEMPLE TALK | YOM KIPPUR 5784
09/29/2023 10:55:47 AM
To Everything There is a Season – Or is There?
I have always been a frazzled mom. Before I became a mom, I had grand plans of being one of those parents who always has it together, who can handle anything that gets thrown their way, and who does it all with such effortlessly cool, collected, calm, that other parents beg for the recipe to their secret sauce.
Well, here’s the thing – that just did not...Read more...
TEMPLE TALK | EREV ROSH HASHANAH 5784
09/29/2023 10:45:38 AM
A few months ago, I stood in the rotunda of the Nebraska legislature engaged in passionate debate with a senator, on an issue that we both believed, to the very core of our beings, that we were right about. We were talking about abortion. But let me clear, this is NOT a sermon about abortion.
In fact, this isn’t a sermon about politics or legislation or even about social justice. It’s a sermon about how to...Read more...
TEMPLE TALK | ROSH HASHANAH 5784
09/22/2023 10:25:11 AM
As part of our Hebrew High teen program, we recently watched the Netflix hit, “You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah.” Following the movie and the many snacks, Rabbi Berezin, Jennie Gates-Beckman, Justin Norton, and I engaged in a conversation with our teens about some of the issues that were raised by the movie. We talked about representation. We talked about the ostentatious demonstration of wealth and whether or not...Read more...