Jeff Masors, President, Board of Directors – Kol Nidre Speech 5783
In case you haven’t read it, Rabbi Jon’s “advanced” summary of Chanukkah in a couple of pages! https://images.shulcloud.com/544/uploads/Sarits-images/Rabbi_Jon_Chanukkah_Letter.pdf
Shabbat Morning D’var Torah * 23 Kislev 5783 * December 17, 2022 (Image: 2nd-century Jewish sage Ben Zoma, made for me by congregant Karen Herman!) The question I’ve been speaking about the past few weeks leading to Chanukkah is the question of the sage Ben Zoma Eizehu Gibbor — Who is courageous? And I’ve kind Continue Reading »
Shabbat Morning D’var Torah * 16 Kislev 5783 * December 10, 2022 (Image: 2nd-century Jewish sage Ben Zoma, made for me by congregant Karen Herman!) When I started rabbinical school I also began a special fellowship that included rabbis and other Jewish community professionals-in-training from other movements and seminaries. And I was so tickled that Continue Reading »
https://youtu.be/xDFfXzmxyXQ What do we know about the beginning of the universe 13.8 billion years ago, and why does it matter to us — as people and as Jews? What lessons can be learned (if any) from the light of the cosmic background, the light of the first stars, or for that matter from the lights Continue Reading »
The Jewish Sound Archive was established at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire as a repository of sound recordings for researchers and students in 2002. The collection, which now has almost 145,000 online tracks, includes commercial recordings from the pre-digital era, unique historical audio artifacts, extensive collections of private recordings, and many other items that Continue Reading »
Shabbat Morning D’var Torah * 9 Kislev 5783 * December 3, 2022 This is Shimon Ben Zoma! Our congregant Karen Herman made him for me a few years ago to help me teach Kitah Zayin, our seventh graders, because Ben Zoma was a sage of the second century who has a series of statements in Continue Reading »
I have only a couple of Chanukkah sermons, and in fact you may have heard me give a version of this in years past and even on a Rosh Hashanah. I want to talk about hope, through the lens of Chanukkah. I think we can learn about hope from the dreidel – nun, gimel, hay, Continue Reading »
The first words a Jew is supposed to say upon waking are: Modah Ani or Modeh Ani, which mean “Thankful am I”. Even before we bring ourselves into focus, we are we are taught to center gratitude, and to make being thankful the frame for our existence in the day that is just starting. That Continue Reading »
On a beautiful fall day in October, which happened to also be Sukkot eve, members and friends of Temple Beth Abraham joined together to experience a science fair connected to the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. Sukkot is a harvest holiday, and as one it leads itself naturally to think about elements such as sunlight, water Continue Reading »