Rabbi Greg Harris

Loss and the Shofar

August 7, 2020

I miss you.  I miss coming together as a community.  I miss chatting over tuna after services.  I miss the amazing banana bread with chocolate chips from Sunflower Bakery after …

Double Sad Day…

July 30, 2020

Today is Tisha B’Av, the 9th of Av.  This is a day of intense sadness on the Jewish calendar as the destruction of the Temples in Jerusalem are commemorated (587BCE …

High Holidays in New Ways

July 2, 2020

Zochreynu l’chayim melech chafetz b’chayim v’chatveynu b’sefer hachayim l’ma’ancha elohim chayim “Remember us for life, Sovereign who delights in life, and write us in the book of life, for Your …

Inequalities! Inequalities?

June 5, 2020

“What will you take with you to the other side of Covid?”  That was the prompt an interviewer asked me for an on-line magazine this week.  It is an important …

How Do We Think About Reopening?

May 28, 2020

This is the fourth week of the month. For Reflections Off the Bimah, the fourth week features thought leaders from throughout the Jewish world and beyond. These special posts give …

A Focus on Mental Health – Shmirat HaGuf

May 7, 2020

Since 1949, May has been National Mental Health Awareness month. I have never felt the need to focus on mental health as intensely as now.  From children to senior citizens, …

How Do We Tell Israel’s Story?

April 24, 2020

Today is Rosh Chodesh Iyar, the month in which Israel’s Independence falls – the 5th of Iyar corresponding to April 29, 2020. As this is also the fourth week of …

Pesach in the Time of COVID

April 3, 2020

              It is paradoxical to discuss Passover during an ‘unprecedented’ time of disease.  Plagues are a center piece of the Passover narrative.  We recognize …

Resilience During Extraordinary Times

March 27, 2020

This is an extraordinary time – COVID-19, economic uncertainty, schools and businesses indefinitely closed, social distancing and isolation.  As this is the fourth week of the month, Reflections Off the …

Another Topic of Conversation

March 6, 2020

We have quickly become consumed by concern for coronavirus, COVID-19.  Store shelves have been emptied of hand sanitizers and bleach wipes.  I have heard of confrontations over face masks.  Some …