The effervescent levity of Purim each year spills over into the entire month of Adar (or two, as the case may be, like this year!) where it occupies a central position. From the moment Adar begins, Jewish tradition commands us to be happy (never mind the fact that there was always, Oy Gevalt, plenty to worry […]
Standing Up and Speaking Out Against Today’s Pharaohs Our Torah tells us this past week, as we approach the end of the Book of Exodus, that Moses gathers all the people together—using the word, Va’Yakhel, which shares the same root with the word Kehillah, a sacred community—first to remind the people about the sanctity of […]
Dear Bet Haverim, We are living in challenging times on so many levels. Each challenge, every crisis also presents us with a choice and an opportunity. Though I’ve been on sabbatical, and write to you now from a spiritual retreat center in Costa Rica, you have not been far from my heart as we attempt […]
As Jewish families gather across the country this year on the last Thursday in November, you might very well hear: “Carve the Turkey and pass the Latkes.” No this is not some kind of cosmic time warp conflating the American festival of Thanksgiving and the Jewish Festival of Lights!! But what a strange feeling it is when these […]
Love Letter to My Congregation: A Legacy Letter of Appreciation and Blessing for A Lifetime of Learning, Love and Living Jewishly! An old joke, from before even I was a rabbi, goes like this: A congregant approaches his rabbi with a dilemma. “Rabbi,” he says, “I have a big problem. You know I’m a […]
A brand new word—to most of us outside the gymnastics’ arena, anyway—was introduced into the broader human lexicon this summer at the Olympics. We came to know this new word—“twisties”—through the devastating experience of four-time gold medalist in gymnastics, Simone Biles. The “twisties” caused her to drop out of some of the most prominent gymnastic […]
Dear Haverim, In honor of Earth Day, I was invited to participate in an interfaith press conference, sharing our Jewish perspective on caring for our Earth. The gathering on Zoom was sponsored by Sacramento Area Congregations Together addressing the climate crisis we are confronting. I share with you my words below and you can also […]
The effervescent levity of Purim each year spills over into the entire month of Adar, where it occupies a central position. From the moment Adar begins, Jewish tradition commands us to be happy (never mind the fact that there was always, Oy Gevalt, plenty to worry about). The joyous holiday of Purim, celebrating the dramatic and nail-biting […]
The pessimist says, “I don’t see how things can get any worse!” The optimist says, “I can!” As we turn the corner, leaving 2020 in the rearview mirror, it is clear that we are not quite able to leave many of the vexing parts of last year behind us; most notably, the physical constraints […]
Lessons Squeezed From Lemons: What Life Can Teach Us in Challenging Times Rabbi Greg Wolfe’s Yom Kippur Sermon https://youtu.be/mou1_sGSw_w A beautiful lemon tree stands in our yard. Quiet and unassuming, this little tree produces more lemons that we could ever use, or even give away. The great irony, however, is that our lemons ripen in […]
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