This is what I can say: Despite the terrible things that have happened this year, my values haven't changed. "You already know what is good, and what God demands from you: Doing justice, loving tenderly, and walking humbly through the world." We cannot allow ourselves to be coarsened. So ground yourself in your values and try to live them. Be gentle with yourself and others in this tough time. Let's push ourselves to uphold both compassion and justice in this new year.
"Home" has many meanings, but ultimately it's the people who make you feel at home. Berith Sholom is a Jewish home for people with varied experiences, viewpoints, and reasons for being here. As the old joke says: "Ginsburg comes to shul to talk to God. I come to shul to talk to Ginsburg." Whatever your reason, you're welcome here.
You are not the only progressive American Jew who is shocked and appalled and pained and traumatized by the bloodthirsty words of people they have been in solidarity with for years. Who benefits if we are no longer allies?
Rabbi Gordon's sermon for Yom Kippur 5784 (2023): My yoga teacher says that there’s no such thing as being perfectly balanced. She says there’s always movement; when we’re standing on one leg, we lose our balance and find it again, over and over. There’s no rigid “I’m balanced and that’s the end of it.” We wobble about. And that’s a healthy adjustment to changing circumstances. So I’m not going to tell you where the center is, because I can’t: it changes. But I am going to remind you how to find it. We have Jewish spiritual technology — and I don’t mean Zoom — which helps us keep our balance and guides us back to the center.
Rabbi Gordon's sermon for Rosh HaShanah 5784 (2023). Learn from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmont Tutu z"l, and Robin Wall Kimmerer's "Braiding Sweetgrass" how to use Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur to refine your vision and commit to living with meaning.
The CDC has identified our entire region as being at "high risk for transmission" of COVID-19, and rates are continuing to rise every day. Out of an abundance of caution, we have made the difficult decision to pivot from in-person, indoor gatherings back to virtual events.
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