Spirituality

What Jews Believe

(A Torah scroll laid out for repair by a sofer, a Hebrew scribe) One of the things that bothers me a great deal is the believe by many (Jews and non-Jews) that there is a single true Jewish belief on everything from God to food. You can image how happy I was to see this…

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Is God Jesus?

For many people Jesus is God, but is the reverse true? Last week I needed to have a document notarized. I took it into my bank where they have a notary on staff. The young woman looked over my paperwork and told me, “For this document you have to swear an oath. I have one…

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Seeking God (a class)

You may have noticed that Jews don’t rush to discuss GOD. There are so many authentic ways to view the concept of God in Judaism. Here’s a class, taught by a rabbi, where you can get some of your questions answered… or at least discussed. During worship services, we affirm our faith in God through…

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A Meditation for Passover & this Time

Rabbi Ryan Bauer of Congregation Emanu-el in San Francisco sent out this loving message to his congregation. He included a link to a meditation that many of us could use. Take a moment to read his message and if you have 15 minutes, do the meditation with him.   Dear Friends, My main childhood memory…

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Parsha Shmot: A teaching on values

This week’s Torah portion is Sh’mot or Shemot (Names). Rabbi Annette Koch sent her congregation, Temple Israel of Alameda, a beautiful drash (teaching) about it that is particularly well timed as we approach the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.   This week’s Torah portion Shemot, which means “Names” begins the story of our exile and…

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