More than four centuries after they were first performed, the plays of William Shakespeare continue to dazzle and inspire. But as to Shakespeare himself, a vocal minority has long contended that he was not the author of the plays published under his name. The controversy largely focuses on Shakespeare’s humble origins as a glover’s son …
Dreidel trivia: According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the most dreidels spinning simultaneously for at least 10 seconds is 820. The longest dreidel spin is one minute, 29.93 seconds. And the galactic record for longest dreidel spin is held by Jeff Hoffman, a NASA astronaut, when he spun his dreidel on a space …
We will post any operational changes due to inclement weather on this page. Please check back as needed. December 14 The safety of our Beth El community members and staff is of the utmost importance to us. With the current road conditions in some neighborhoods and the forecasted temperature, there will be no BERS classes today, …
As we look forward to the celebration of Hanukkah, three words tend to dominate: gifts, lights, and miracles. We search for presents for our children and grandchildren. We clean our menorahs, restock our supply of Hanukkah candles, and rehearse the blessings upon lighting the candles. We retell the miracle of Hanukkah, when oil necessary for …
In 1860, there were 150,000 Jews living in the United States. How did this small minority, comprised mostly of recent immigrants, react to the fierce national debate over slavery? Richard Kreitner explores this question in his excellent and engrossing book, Fear No Pharaoh: American Jews, The Civil War, and the Fight to End Slavery. Kreitner profiles six …
Thank God. Thank God the hostages are home. If we had not gotten them back now, two weeks ago as of this writing, I certainly would have been here speaking about the freedom they so desperately dreamed of for over 700 days. As it happens, I just finished Eli Sharabi’s book, Hostage, which details the …
President Theodore (“Teddy”) Roosevelt (1858-1919) is famous as a conservationist, a “trust-buster” of business monopolies, an advocate for consumer protections, and the inspiration for the beloved stuffed toy, the teddy bear. Yet historian Andrew Porwancher has chosen to explore a lesser-known area of Roosevelt’s legacy. Porwancher’s American Maccabee: Theodore Roosevelt & the Jews, focuses on Roosevelt’s …
The iconic World War II film, The Train, asks whether it is moral to risk human lives to save art. In an early scene, a French Resistance leader initially refuses to send his men on a dangerous mission to prevent a train of looted art from reaching Germany. “I won’t waste lives on paintings,” he tells the …
Parshat Noach – 2 parshiot down, only 52 more to go! This week we have another well-loved story from Genesis – Noach (Noah). The parsha includes the story of Noah’s ark and his multiple animal pairs. When the floods end, God gives Noah a rainbow as a symbol of his covenant that he will …
New year – renewed initiative! Because life so often happens around food, we are again spending a year exploring the weekly parshiot and finding connections to each week’s Shabbat dinner/Shabbat afternoon offerings. This parsha-inspired recipes project grew from a shared desire to spend a year exploring the weekly Torah portions in a fun, modern way, …
Because life so often happens around food, we spent the year exploring the weekly parshiot and finding connections to each week’s Shabbat menu. This week we complete the 54th and final parsha! In VeZot HaBerakhah, Moses bids the Israelites a final farewell, giving each tribe a unique blessing. He then climbs Mount Nebo where God …
Some may think the above headline would apply to the physical rebuilding of battered communities across Israel – from kibbutzim near the southern edge of Gaza, to small towns bordering Syria and Lebanon. Others may want to encourage young people to take part in thoughtful engagement about Israel and gain wider perspectives on a region …
Because life so often happens around food, we’re spending the year exploring the weekly parshiot and finding connections to each week’s Shabbat menu. 53 parshiot down, only 1 more to go! Ha’azinu (“Listen”) contains the poem that God commanded Moses to write at the end of last week’s parsha. Often called the Song of Moses, …
The latest chapter in the Kesher Nir Oz partnership took place on September 7 at the Bender JCC as our community welcomed returned hostage and hero of Israel, Gadi Moses, (age 81), and Nir Oz survivor, Nir Metzger, (49), for an inspiring gathering sponsored by American Friends of Nir Oz (AFNO), to discuss their experiences and …
Because life so often happens around food, we’re spending the year exploring the weekly parshiot and finding connections to each week’s Shabbat menu. 52 parshiot down, 2 more to go! Vayelech (“He Went”) opens as Moses prepares the Israelites to cross the Jordan, assuring them that God will be with them, and that Joshua will …
Because life so often happens around food, we’re spending the year exploring the weekly parshiot and finding connections to each week’s Shabbat menu. 51 parshiot down, 3 more to go! Parsha Nitzavim (“Standing”) opens with Moses addressing the Israelites about the importance of keeping the covenant made with God when they were freed from Egypt. …
Because life so often happens around food, we’re spending the year exploring the weekly parshiot and finding connections to each week’s Shabbat menu. 50 parshiot down, 4 more to go! Ki Tavo (“When you Come”) opens with a description of the ceremony of offering the first fruits of the soil (bikurim) as the Israelites enter …
Because life so often happens around food, we’re spending the year exploring the weekly parshiot and finding connections to each week’s Shabbat menu. 49 parshiot down, 5 more to go! Ki Teitzei (“When You Go Out”) contains 74 of the 613 mitzvot – more than in any other parsha! In a continuation of his farewell …
Join shlichim Yoel Gleizer and Abraham Belilty as they take you on a journey through Israeli music and hip-hop, from the pioneers of the 1980s and 1990s to today’s diverse and innovative scene. Along the way, they highlight legendary songwriters, groundbreaking rap collectives, and rising stars shaping the sound of modern Israel.
In our Jewish tradition, the month of Elul, preceding Rosh Hashanah, is a time for preparation for the High Holidays. We listen each day to the sound of the shofar, the call to our faith. We reflect upon our thoughts and actions during the past year. We ponder how we can improve our lot, the …
I love the energy of the start of the school year – the fresh haircuts, stories of summer adventures, and the excitement of meeting new classmates. On the first days of school, I carried no overdue library books, unfinished homework, or looming quizzes – just possibility. As an adult, the High Holidays bring me that …
Because life so often happens around food, we’re spending the year exploring the weekly parshiot and finding connections to each week’s Shabbat menu. This week we have the Torah’s 48th parsha, 6 more to go! Two verses into this week’s portion we encounter the famous phrase, “Justice, justice, shall you pursue” (16:20), because Shoftim (judges) …
Because life so often happens around food, we’re spending the year exploring the weekly parshiot and finding connections to each week’s Shabbat menu. This week we have the Torah’s 47th parsha, 7 more to go! Re’eh (“See”) opens with a reminder that our actions have consequences. If the Israelites obey the commandments, they will be …
Lihi Lapid’s bestselling Israeli novel, On Her Own, is now available in English, translated by Sondra Silverston. As the book opens, a terrified eighteen-year-old girl, Nina, is cowering in the stairwell of a Tel Aviv apartment building. She has just escaped from her abusive boyfriend, a gangster who is searching for her, intent on ensuring that Nina …
Because life so often happens around food, we’re spending the year exploring the weekly parshiot and finding connections to each week’s Shabbat menu. 46 parshiot down, 8 more to go! In Eikev (“As a Result”), as the Israelites inch closer and closer to the Promised land, Moses continues to recount their experiences in the wilderness. …
Because life so often happens around food, we’re spending the year exploring the weekly parshiot and finding connections to each week’s Shabbat menu. 45 parshiot down, 9 more to go! Vaetchanan (“I Pleaded”) opens as Moses pleads with G-d to be allowed to enter the Promised Land. G-d refuses, instead instructing Moses to imbue Joshua …
Because life so often happens around food, we’re spending the year exploring the weekly parshiot and finding connections to each week’s Shabbat menu. 44 parshiot down, 10 more to go! Devarim (“Words”) is the first parsha in the Book of Deuteronomy – the fifth and final book of the Torah. In what can be described …
Because life so often happens around food, we’re spending the year exploring the weekly parshiot and finding connections to each week’s Shabbat menu. This week we have the Torah’s final double portion for this year which means we have the 42nd and 43rd parshiot down, 11 more to go! These are also the last two …
Because life so often happens around food, we’re spending the year exploring the weekly parshiot and finding connections to each week’s Shabbat menu. 41 parshiot down, 13 more to go! Pinchas begins with G-d promising a “covenant of peace” to Pinchas, who zealously defended G-d’s honor at the end of Balak – a dramatic episode …
Because life so often happens around food, we’re spending the year exploring the weekly parshiot and finding connections to each week’s Shabbat menu. 40 parshiot down, 14 more to go! Last week’s parsha, Hukkat, concluded with the Israelites’ military victory over the Amorites. This week in Balak, the frightened king of Moab – Balak himself …
Because life so often happens around food, we’re spending the year exploring the weekly parshiot and finding connections to each week’s Shabbat menu. 39 parshiot down, 15 more to go! Drought, death of leaders, poisonous snakes, and battles make Hukkat a very rough time to be an Israelite. The perfect red heifer is the star …
Because life so often happens around food, we’re spending the year exploring the weekly parshiot and finding connections to each week’s Shabbat menu. 38 parshiot down, 16 more to go! In Korach, a Levite leads a rebellion against Moses with 250 of the Israelites. They claim that all the Israelites are holy, and that Moses …
Because life so often happens around food, we’re spending the year exploring the weekly parshiot and finding connections to each week’s Shabbat menu. 37 parshiot down, 17 more to go! Shelach (“Send”) opens with G-d commanding Moses to send a leader from each tribe to scout the land of Canaan, each one named individually. Moses …
Because life so often happens around food, we’re spending the year exploring the weekly parshiot and finding connections to each week’s Shabbat menu. 36 parshiot down, 18 more to go! Beha’alotekha (“When You Raise”) is chock full of details – we will highlight some of the main points. It opens with G-d instructing Moses to …
When Rachel Cockerell set out to write a history of her very British family, she was amazed to discover that her great-grandfather had played a crucial role in an early 20th century Zionist project called the Galveston Plan. This was the origin of Melting Point: Family, Memory, and the Search for a Promised Land, Cockerell’s innovative work of …
On Sunday, May 11, our congregation celebrated Yom Ha’Atzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day, with a love-filled and voices-lifted program featuring our Religious School students in grades K-5. Our shaliach, Yoel Gleizer, led the children in singing a range of Israeli classics, including Shabbat BaBoker and Od Yavo Shalom Aleinu, culminating in Hatikvah, featuring a fifth-grader soloist. …
Because life so often happens around food, we’re spending the year exploring the weekly parshiot and finding connections to each week’s Shabbat menu. 35 parshiot down, 19 more to go! Naso (“Take a Census”) is the longest parsha in the Torah. It begins with a count of the Levite clans and details their various responsibilities …
In the 1990s, American playwright and screenwriter Alice Austen was working as a lawyer in Brussels. Some elderly neighbors in her elegant Beaux Arts apartment building befriended her, inviting her regularly for afternoon tea. They regaled Austen with stories of the apartment building during World War II, when Germany occupied Belgium. During the war, residents of the …
Because life so often happens around food, we’re spending the year exploring the weekly parshiot and finding connections to each week’s Shabbat menu. 34 parshiot down, 20 more to go! Bamidbar (“In The Desert”) is the first parsha in the book of Numbers. In it, G-d instructs Moses and Aaron to take a census of …
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