Someone asked me the other day, “What does Am Israel Chai mean?” And if you don’t know, I want to tell you. Because it’s not just a slogan, it’s a prayer and a proclamation. From the Hebrew, Am Yisra’el Chai translates into English, “The People of Israel Live.” It is well-known in Jewish culture and…
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The high holidays. Every Jew knows about them and it’s usually the only time most Jews go to any type of service. These are big events, that is, Rosh Hashanah and, especially, Yom Kippur. Many irreligious Jews fast even to some degree on Yom Kippur. Whatever one has done for the other 364 days of…
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Many people in New York go apple picking in the fall. It is a wonderful time to get outside, get into nature, and enjoy some of the last of the nice weather. People arrive at a farm, get their baskets, and head to the trees to find the best, juiciest apples. Imagine, however, when they…
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Good news has to be good. We’ve all heard of some of these: “I got accepted to college!” “I just got engaged!” “I’m pregnant!” “I got the job!” These are “good news” because they are things we wanted—really, really wanted—and receiving them brought us great joy to receive them. It also brings us joy to…
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Our congregation’s current policy is to ordain only men to the office of shamash (Hebrew for deacon). It is based upon biblical evidence and longstanding tradition within much of the Body of Messiah. Our elders eventually began to think however, about ordaining shammashot (Hebrew for deaconess). This discussion became one that included the opinion of…
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