I’ve been pleased and impressed by Rabbi Larry Milder‘s clear statements about acceptance within his synagogue, Beth Emek of Pleasanton. Here’s another good one that he sent to his congregation. Are You Gay? Lesbian? Transgender? We Welcome You! I am heterosexual. I expect my synagogue to be accepting of my gender identity. I was born…
Read More »A meaningful life
Make it a Happy Holiday Even if You’re Worried it Won’t Be
You may have heard me tell this story because it had a deep impact on me – years ago in a workshop a non-Jewish wife told me that she waited all year for Christmas. She described herself as “a pressure cooker waiting to let off steam.” She recounted her love of the rituals of…
Read More »Some Light in the Darkness
Rabbi Rebecca Gutterman sent out this hopeful message to her congregation, B’nai Tikvah in Walnut Creek. It made me think of my Jewish – Muslim couples who are going through tough times now with all the brutal, prejudice words flying around. I will us all peace and sanity. It is a hallmark of Jewish experience…
Read More »A Prayer for San Bernardino
Rabbi David Booth send this message to his congregation. He has worries and a prayer. I hope you will find some comfort in his words. I am worried about my reaction to the tragedy in San Bernardino on two levels. First, I found myself numbed to it. By contrast with Paris, or Tel Aviv, or…
Read More »Are There Miracles Anymore?
Miracles? As a child didn’t you think of a miracle as a magical event, something that defied the laws of nature? Such a definition of miracles often leaves adults cold. Here is a quote from a handout I believe Vicky Kelman wrote: the correct question about miracles is not “Do you believe in miracles?”…
Read More »Time to Pray for Rain
California’s environment is quite similar to Israel’s. Both do not receive summer rain and rely on winter for all our precipitation. So it is that with the end of Sukkot and the arrival of Shemini Atzeret (or Simchat Torah, for non-traditional Jews) a prayer for rain is introduced to the daily liturgy. The prayer…
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