Rabbi’s blog
Rabbi’s Weekly Email – October 8, 2020
October 8, 2020 by templesinai • Rabbi's Blog •
HAPPY SUKKOT TEMPLE SINAI!
Congratulations to the Sisterhood on their kick-off brunch! They have been doing such good work during this pandemic, and I know they will grow from strength to strength in this new year. Also, congratulations to Judy Alexander, Stacie Gabert, and all the teachers on the opening of our virtual Hebrew School.
Also in this email:
– Meet Mr. Ginsberg!
– Retro Homecoming Shabbat from the Gates of Prayer
– Simchat Torah event!
– Intro to Judaism course starting November 1
– Upcoming Events
Rabbi’s Weekly Email – September 30, 2020
October 1, 2020 by templesinai • Rabbi's Blog, Temple News •
THANK YOU TEMPLE SINAI!
Thanks to all of you who joined us for our virtual High Holy Day services, and thanks for all the nice messages. We owe so much to David Punia, David Wright and James Valastro for setting up the cameras, sound and technology to move between shots, share slides, and make the service as engaging as possible given the limitations of the screen. It was nice to be together with Mark and Deb Leopold, Wendy Valastro and Roy Feldman, and my Tim who made the music possible.
Also in this email:
– Sukkot
– Simchat Torah
– Intro to Judaism Course
– Upcoming Events
SERMON/Story – Yom Kippur 5781 morning – Bar Kamtza
September 28, 2020 by templesinai • Rabbi's Blog, Sermons •
I want to tell you a story of two temples in two cities: one ancient Jerusalem, one right here in South Burlington.
The Talmud asks: Why was the Temple in Jerusalem destroyed by the Romans and the nation exiled? The Talmud answers because of fighting between us and because of too much self-righteousness…
SERMON – Yom Kippur 5781 – Tefila, Teshuva, Tzedakah
September 28, 2020 by templesinai • Rabbi's Blog, Sermons •
TZEDAKAH AND JUSTICE
In a few minutes, we will recite the Yom Kippur Amidah. This Amidah, more than anything else in our tradition has been the focus of great attention, intention, musical and poetic effort. For many of us, it reaches its climax in the Unetaneh Tokef Prayer. Written in the midst of the Crusades in which Jewish villages were massacred, the words ‘who by fire and who by sword, were very real to them, as was ‘who by pestilence’. And now it is to us…
SERMON – Kol Nidre 5781 – The Teshuvah of Beauty
September 27, 2020 by templesinai • Rabbi's Blog, Sermons •
THE TESHUVAH OF BEAUTY
Tim and I, as many of you know, love opera. To be sure, we are low-key provincial opera queens, but it is one of our great loves. Yes, the stories are melodramatic, and somehow the woman always seems to die at the end, but as we know, life too often ends unfairly, unjustly, and goodness is often not rewarded…
Rabbi’s Weekly Email – September 24, 2020
September 24, 2020 by templesinai • Rabbi's Blog, Temple News •
SHANA TOVA TEMPLE SINAI!
It was quite a difficult and powerful moment to learn that Ruth Bader Ginsberg just as we were about to recite Kaddish together. Our tradition teaches us that to die on the eve of Rosh HaShanah is a sign of great righteousness. We know that Justice Ginsberg attributed her love of justice and fairness to her upbringing in a Conservative Jewish home…
Also in this email:
– Thank-you’s to those who made our online Rosh Hashanah services look so professional
– Death of Ruth Bader Ginsberg
– Shabbat Shuva and Yom Kipppur events and service schedule
– Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah
– Intro to Judaism course
Sermon: Children of Sarah; Status Anxiety – Rosh Hashanah Morning 5781
September 21, 2020 by templesinai • Rabbi's Blog, Sermons •
Genesis 1 tells that God created us, all of us, all genders, all types in God’s image. And that is actually kind of trippy since we are also taught that God has no image. So what might it mean? With consciousness, with free will, with curiosity, with the ability to choose right from wrong. With the flame of God not on a mountaintop somewhere, but within each of us.
Sermon: Blessings of Mortality – Rosh Hashanah Eve 5781
September 21, 2020 by templesinai • Rabbi's Blog, Sermons •
Tonight, on this eve of our New Year, I’m not going to deliver a formal sermon in robes. Without any of you here listening, in this year of pandemic, it just doesn’t seem fitting, and anyway, that sort of formality just doesn’t work very well on ZOOM. Instead of making us feel the grandeur and gravity of the day, formal robes on a bimah on a screen in a room where you aren’t with me only highlights the distance and separation, and I want to feel as connected as is possible through this medium…
Rabbi’s Weekly Email – Sept 9, 2020
September 10, 2020 by templesinai • Rabbi's Blog •
SHALOM TEMPLE SINAI!
Next week, you will be receiving an electronic High Holy Day Kit that will include a range of resources to help you engage Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur meaningfully this year, despite the sense of loss at not being able to be together in the Sanctuary. We feel the urge to gather in synagogue on the High Holy Days, like salmon feel the urge to swim home, like humans feel the urge to pray together…
Also in this email:
– High Holidays events
– How to engage the holidays via ZOOM
– #BlackJewishUnity Week
– Special Torah Study this week
– Selichot with Dan Nichols
– Thursdays in Elul – Final session
Rabbi’s Weekly Email – October 29, 2020
October 29, 2020 by templesinai • Rabbi's Blog •
HELLO TEMPLE SINAI!
Tim and I had a productive and relaxing time on our vacation. We spent a week cleaning out closets and storage between playing with the new puppy, and then we went to Maine for a lovely time on the ocean. It was nice to get away but it is also always nice to get back to Vermont. I feel such a sense of home and happiness whenever I cross the state line and see the Vermont sign.
I hope to see you at our service this Friday evening. Roy Feldman will be joining us on viola, and we will be pausing to remember the shooting at Tree of Life with song and prayer.
Also in this email:
– New Friday night service! Download from our home page
– Pre and Post Election Day short services
– Hanukkah planning
– Intro to Judaism course starts Sunday