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Be a Modern-Day Noah

10/28/2024 12:42:40 PM

Oct28

Rabbi Brad Levenberg

In our Torah portion this week, we encounter Noah and the ark that he built to preserve life. It’s a great story that resonates with kids who imagine large boats with smiling animals of all shapes and sizes. It is a story that should resonate with adults as well, for in the words of the portion comes a challenge to us all. Though the rainbow comes along to symbolize that God will never again destroy the world with a flood, I believe...Read more...

Another Year of Torah

10/23/2024 10:07:12 AM

Oct23

Beth Schafer

Our Holy Days are now behind us and we have been launched into a New Year with a clean slate. It is not a coincidence that we also begin again the reading of Torah. This annual cycle of reading from creation to redemption to revelation through the five books mirrors how we, too, move through life.

We are creators. Genesis reminds us that we are our life’s designers. Every time we speak or send a text or an email, every time we...Read more...

Rejoice in Sukkot

10/14/2024 09:49:29 AM

Oct14

Rabbi Brad Levenberg

As I watch the devastating pictures from North Carolina and Florida, I am reminded again of the power and fury of nature. Amidst the destruction and the heartbreak, there is an understanding that begins to emerge when considering as well the rhythm of Jewish time. Having completed the towering days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, we find ourselves presently celebrating the festival of Sukkot with all of its informality and...Read more...

Responding to External Need & the Call for Personal Growth at Yom Kippur

10/10/2024 08:15:57 AM

Oct10

Rabbi Ron Segal

As we prepare to observe the most solemn and sacred day in the Jewish year tomorrow evening and Saturday, it is admittedly difficult to focus on the important, personal work of teshuva that Yom Kippur lays before us. Serious and catastrophic issues call out for our attention from almost every direction:

Our hearts unquestionably remain in the East as Israel continues her battle against terrorists and enemies whose sole mission is...Read more...

The Last Shabbat of the Year

09/24/2024 02:35:09 PM

Sep24

Beth Schafer

This week is the last Shabbat of 5784. This past year has been such a difficult one for us as a people. I remember when I first put the dog tag around my neck with prayers for the hostages in captivity, it felt like I was wearing a bowling ball around my neck. Heavy and inescapable, the weight of the plight of the hostages and all Jewish people pressed on my heart. While we have spent this month of Elul looking in the rearview mirror of...Read more...

Focus on Loving Yourself, Imperfections & All

09/18/2024 09:44:07 AM

Sep18

Rabbi Sam Trief

Last Shabbat, during services, I shared a poem titled “Tishrei” by Rabbi Osnat Eldar.  Rosh HaShanah falls on the first day of the month of Tishrei. I've found myself revisiting this poem throughout the week and would love to share it with you here as well.

Tishrei

The seasons did not change on time this year

But...Read more...

Take Two

09/12/2024 08:15:36 AM

Sep12

Rabbi Ron Segal

Here are a handful of the countless expressions with the word “two”:

Put two and two together Two shakes of a lamb’s tail A bicycle built for two The lesser of two evils Hit two targets with one arrow Take two tablets and call me in the morning Two sides of the same coin It takes two to Torah

Rightfully, you’ve likely called me on that last expression, which, of course, concludes with “tango,” not Torah. After...Read more...

The Work of Elul

09/04/2024 08:16:48 AM

Sep4

Beth Schafer

Welcome to Elul! Monday evening we began the final month of our spiritual year. While there are many ways in which we tend to mark our seasons, either by the school year or a company’s fiscal year, or by the sports we follow or the plants and yards we tend to, at a Jewish institution we really feel the gravitational pull of the Holy Days as a signifier of seasonal change.

But there is more to preparing for the Holy Days than...Read more...

The Obligation of Tzedakah

08/29/2024 09:05:39 AM

Aug29

Rabbi Brad Levenberg

I love to confuddle adults in Torah study and our Confirmation students. It is exciting when a question is posed that causes disagreement and dialogue, and it’s fantastic when one of the participants inevitably says, with laughter to follow, “I agree with every contradictory thing that has been said! How can that be?”

I’ll give you an example so that you can play along if you wish. Moses Maimonides, the great medieval...Read more...

The Impact of Generational Divides

08/22/2024 07:12:38 AM

Aug22

Rabbi Sam Trief

As you may know, last Shabbat we hosted retired psychologist Dr. Betsy Stone for a weekend of learning. As a result of our learning with her, we have been talking a lot about generational differences here at Temple Sinai among staff and congregants.

Dr. Stone's keynote presentation, which she shared with members of our Sinai staff family, explored the idea of generational divides. For instance: were we “latchkey”...Read more...

Words & People That Inspire

08/15/2024 08:04:51 AM

Aug15

Rabbi Brad Levenberg

From beginning through middle to the end, Judaism is about words and people that inspire. We find ourselves most taken by the words of tradition that we inherit – whether stories passed through the generations or the prayers that we witness the elders in our community and in our lives recite. And we look to those masterful individuals who seem to possess a passion for people to transmit that text to us in ways that cause us to notice new...Read more...

Final Words

08/06/2024 08:00:31 AM

Aug6

Rabbi Brad Levenberg

In our Torah reading this week we begin a new book of Torah - Deuteronomy, or Dvarim.  This text is bittersweet, for we learned in the Torah reading from last week, at the close of the book of Numbers, that Moses was not to lead the people into the Promised Land. Instead, he would be granted an opportunity to share his final thoughts with the people that he had led for 40 years. Deuteronomy is the book almost exclusively comprised of...Read more...

Look Forward to the Opportunities Ahead

08/01/2024 08:27:30 AM

Aug1

Rabbi Sam Trief

There are still a few things I am not yet used to as a Georgia resident. One of them is that school starts before Labor Day....well, way before Labor Day. There is just something so weird to me about school in August. August is SUMMER.

Alas, with school starting for many as I write this, it feels like an end to the cherished summer days. So many of us use this time to plan for the year ahead, to get organized, and to...Read more...

Shabbat is Always a Refuge

07/25/2024 09:32:59 AM

Jul25

Rabbi Ron Segal

Such a humdrum, ordinary few weeks it has been in our country and world…  What could there possibly be to write about in this week’s Shabbat to Shabbat column?! Read more...

Israel in Song

07/17/2024 10:53:33 AM

Jul17

Beth Schafer

Last week I returned from the Cantor’s Conference held in Israel. While we typically meet in cities around the U.S., every 7 years the conference takes place in Israel. As you might imagine, this conference was very much about October 7th – both the event itself and the aftermath of where Israel is today. While our rabbis have all been to Israel since that ominous day, this was my first opportunity to go.

The trip had many highs...Read more...

You Are Not Alone

07/08/2024 02:45:33 PM

Jul8

Rabbi Brad Levenberg

It was not long ago that I was standing with one of our young people after a tragic event occurred to a loved one. I did not have to engage in conversation to learn that he was hurting; I could see it in his eyes the minute I walked into the room. Our embrace simultaneously felt too long and not long enough. It was as if we both wanted to cling to each other until the pain was gone.

It was not long into the visit that he asked the...Read more...

Fireworks and Korah

07/03/2024 10:36:52 AM

Jul3

Rabbi Ron Segal

To the chagrin of dogs, toddlers, and any others who are sensitive to loud booms, pops and sizzles, July 4th has arrived once again, and with it, the annual spectacle of fireworks displays. To the chagrin of the National Fire Protection Association and other fire safety organizations, though, the individuals who are purchasing and shooting off fireworks are just as likely to be local amateurs as they are trained...Read more...

Find the People in the World that Need You

06/27/2024 08:38:33 AM

Jun27

Rabbi Sam Trief

We all know the famous proverb: Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime. 

This is the motto that has been motivating the Refugee Relief Committee (RRC) for the past 4 years. It's likely you have heard us talk about this fabulous committee in recent months, as its leaders Janie Fishman & Leslie Walden just received the Temple Sinai Ner Tamid Award, in celebration of...Read more...

Prayers for Healing

06/18/2024 11:27:10 AM

Jun18

Rabbi Brad Levenberg

Prayers for healing are often considered among the more evocative in the Jewish canon. While customary to offer such prayers for centuries, often the language was in Hebrew and was rather formulaic. Thus, while used in progressive congregations, it never gained traction as a piece of text with spiritual resonance. It was the introduction of Debbie Freidman’s Mi Sheberach that spoke to the hopes of a generation of Jews who suddenly found...Read more...

We Invite You to Torah

06/11/2024 09:53:41 AM

Jun11

Rabbi Brad Levenberg

This past week, the Jewish community observed the festival of Shavuot. Originally a holiday with an agrarian connection, it has now become intricately connected to the giving of the Torah by God to Moses on Mount Sinai and the moment when the Jewish people became newly consecrated to God. Many chose to observe the festival through study sessions that went late into the night and by following a custom of eating dairy foods, a tough beat for...Read more...

Pronouns & Pride

06/06/2024 09:47:06 AM

Jun6

Beth Schafer

For as long as I can remember, my childhood rabbi, Rabbi Phil Schechter, never referred to God as “He.” “God is not a ‘him’,” he explained. God is God. I grew up hearing God referred to as God, the Eternal One, Adonai, Sovereign, and a host of other euphemisms that removed gender from God’s name and avoided pronouns altogether. In today’s parlance, my rabbi would’ve said that our prayerbook misgendered God. When...Read more...

Keep Stepping Forward

05/28/2024 08:45:55 AM

May28

Rabbi Brad Levenberg

When we study texts related to Moses’ climbing of Mount Sinai to receive the Torah, I like to ask myself the following recurring question, "Which was the most difficult step for Moses?" Was it the first step into the unknown, that step alone, that step away from his people, his community, and his familiar yet unfamiliar role with the Israelites? Was it the last step when he was so close to accomplishing his goal that he feared its...Read more...

Caring for the Caregiver

05/22/2024 10:24:50 AM

May22

Rabbi Sam Trief

Sinai is hosting a special event for caregivers called Caring for Caregivers on Thursday, June 13 from 6:00 pm-8:00 pm at Temple Sinai. Sinai’s Hineini (Accessibility and Inclusivity) and Nefesh (Mental Health) Committees partnered together in this effort, motivated by the idea that at some point we are all caregivers, and ourselves, in need of care. And while caring for others can be rewarding, it might...Read more...

Joy Mixed With Sadness

05/16/2024 07:52:10 AM

May16

Rabbi Ron Segal

On Tuesday of this week, we observed Israel’s 76th Day of Independence, Yom Ha’atzma’ut. Customarily a day of unbridled joy, especially in Israel, this year’s celebration was somewhat muted for the majority of Israelis who continue to wrestle with…. the realities of the prolonged war with Hamas along with a concern about escalating conflicts with Hezbollah, consuming worry about the fate of loved ones, friends and citizens still...Read more...

Here’s to the Mothers

05/08/2024 01:55:46 PM

May8

Beth Schafer

Our sages posed the question why Noah was chosen to save the human race and not Adam after his son Cain killed Abel. An interesting answer came from Rabbi Yisroel Meir Lau, a survivor of the Buchenwald concentration camp. He believed that Noah was more fit because unlike Adam, Noah had a mother. Someone who knew maternal nurturing and the divine connection that mothers create, could, in turn, care about the human race by modeling the...Read more...

Just Breathe

05/02/2024 10:56:53 AM

May2

Rabbi Sam Trief

When we think the ripple effects of October 7th cannot get any more jarring or surprising, somehow the news continues to shock and disturb.

Our colleague Rabbi Dan Levin summed up exactly what many of us have wanted to say about the violent and hateful protests and tent encampments taking over college campuses. You can find his remarks here.

Like many of you, this post October 7 world continues to fill me with rage, fear, and...Read more...

The Original Ten Commandments

04/24/2024 08:48:40 AM

Apr24

Rabbi Brad Levenberg

I found the original 10 Commandments. And I’ll share with you where I found them shortly.

Passover is my favorite holiday. I love the ritual, the routine, the creativity; I love the history and the story, even though the two really don’t match up very well. As someone who curiously and contradictorily privileges faith (“There is no proof; you just have to believe!”) and proof (“That seems odd; I’m going to need to see some...Read more...

Finding Meaning at Pesach this Year

04/18/2024 07:53:58 AM

Apr18

Rabbi Ron Segal

Rabbi Annie Villarreal-Belford writes, “Passover is our celebration of redemption. We remember that in ancient Egypt, we were slaves; we celebrate our miraculous exodus and freedom. We raise each of the four cups of wine to acknowledge the joy we feel that we live as free people today. This year, however, our joy is tempered with the knowledge that not all Jews are free….” 

In truth, the fact that more than 130 men, women,...Read more...

Our Communal Eclipse

04/10/2024 09:25:19 AM

Apr10

Beth Schafer

On Tuesday morning, everybody was having a similar conversation, “Did you see the eclipse? Did you get pictures? Do you know anyone who saw the total eclipse?” In the office people compared pictures, both of the eclipse and of wearing eclipse-safe glasses. What struck me was that having a shared communal experience has become more and more rare these days.

In a world of streaming this and on-demand that, witnessing something at...Read more...

If Our Dogs Could Talk...

04/03/2024 02:02:10 PM

Apr3

Rabbi Sam Shabman

We spent the past week in Colombia with family. My sister-in-law is Colombian and our niece and nephew (the exact same ages as our kids) spend much of their school vacations and summers in Colombia. We were grateful for the invitation to join them for spring break and looked forward to lots of family bonding. 

Thu, October 31 2024 29 Tishrei 5785