Observations of the Middle East
Observations of the Middle East from visit to Israel, February 2011 What I saw, discovered, and learned, with thoughts and conclusions. 1. Nuance The biggest lesson about the seemingly endless...
View ArticleJewish Continuity
A friend recently told me how much Jewish culture means to him, and how proudly he identifies with Jewish history. He also said that Jewish religion and its practice has no meaning. Like many...
View ArticleMusic at Temple Emanu-El Today
Music is such a vital element of worship. That’s why the Temple leadership, including Rabbi Meyer and the volunteer board, has put so much emphasis on developing an excellent music program. If you...
View ArticleA NEW MACHZOR – CHANGES AND CHALLENGES
Erev Rosh Hashanah 5772 In his recent book, The Beginning of Infinity, physicist and cosmologist, David Deutsch, makes the following, rather fascinating insight. He writes: “Progress that is both...
View ArticleFROM JERUSALEM TO RAMALLAH (AND BACK)
Rosh Hashanah Morning 5772 The nationalistic fervor which swept across Europe through the middle and late 19th Century found its Jewish expression in the Zionist movement, and the dream of a modern...
View Article“FOR THIS WERE YOU CREATED”
Kol Nidre 5772 For the past 20 years, Dr. Richard Light, a professor of education at Harvard, has been conducting interviews with Harvard College students who are on the verge of graduation. Not long...
View ArticleTHE TORTOISE AND THE SCORPION: CAN PEOPLE CHANGE?
Yom Kippur Morning 5772 In the middle of his beautiful work of poetic fiction, David Rakoff, recent winner of the Thurber Prize for American Humor, included an original version of an ancient fable,...
View ArticleHigh Holyday Speech to Congregation
Delivered Yom Kippur, 5772 (October 2011) by Stuart Cohen Pleasure is transitory. Enjoyment doesn’t last after the activity ends. Researchers in the field of positive psychology tell us that...
View ArticleA Covenant People
Judaism is a covenant religion; we are a covenant people. Distinct from religions that claim believing as their central act, being Jewish means that we collectively and individually affirm a permanent...
View ArticleFinding Meaning in the Ordinary
In early November I celebrated the 50th anniversary of my Bar Mitzvah at the Temple. I invited the whole congregation during my comments on Erev Yom Kippur, and was pleased that some of you were able...
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January 28, 2012 Taste of the North Shore For information, please call the Temple office. Hope to see you there!
View ArticleServe Us vs. Service?
Rabbi Rick Jacobs, the incoming President of the Union for Reform Judaism, raises a compelling question. Should the primary role of the synagogue be to address the desires of its members? Or should it...
View ArticleYour Spiritual Home
Has Temple Emanu-El been your spiritual home for a significant portion of your life? Has this synagogue been a Jewish center for you, a place where you found meaningful friendships, celebrated family...
View ArticleExternal versus Internal God
It is difficult, in these times, for many Jews to find a satisfying and meaningful way to understand God. The ancient model of God as an external entity, generally portrayed as being above us, as in...
View ArticlePrayer to a Differently Understood God
Last month in this column I offered thoughts based on my reading about alternative ways to understand God for those of us who are uncomfortable with the model of a superior being that acts upon us from...
View ArticleCompleting the Circle
My term as president of this Temple ends soon. This is a time to reflect, acknowledge and turn the page. Serving as Temple president these past three years reminds me why people are grateful for the...
View ArticleTransitions
In this final column, I’d like to introduce you to incoming president Brad York. Brad grew up at Temple Emanu-El. He was Bar Mtizvahed here and married here to his wife Jill. His parents, Bill and...
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