Blog Archives

(Don't) Sound the Alarm (P. Pinhas)

6/28/2026

This week marks 10 weeks until Rosh Hashanah. Torah, always uncannily on time, reminds us this week about Rosh Hashanah and the shofar.

For a practice so symbolic, so core, so cellular in resonance and impact, it's odd that Torah does not tell us why we connect Rosh Hashanah with shofar. And Torah also left it to tradition, 2,000 years ago, to not blow shofar on Shabbat.

Why? The answers have to do with alarms.

When We Lose It (P. Hukkat-Balak)

6/21/2026

Just about all humans have the propensity to lose it. Something gets our goat. Something rubs us wrong. Something deep inside ferments and bubbles over. A slow burn suddenly flames out.

When we judge harshly, or lose our temper, or lash out, it can seem like we are responding first and foremost to whatever "something" has our immediate attention – whatever offense, real or imagined, might provoke us in the moment.

In those moments, however, the emotional and spiritual reality can be hidden from us – unless we seek it with all our integrity and courage.

Jews in Space, and Where We Came From (P. Korach)

6/14/2026

As a comic, Mel Brooks has been cutting edge for decades. As a Jewish comic, Mel Brooks has been as traditional as they come. Amidst all his antics, Mel Brooks and his comedy transmit a core truth: a secret of Jewish continuity and strength always has been remembering where we come from.

Modern Jewish astronauts, unfathomable decades ago, have remembered what this week's Torah characters tragically forgot.

One Hundred Days of . . . (P. Shlah Lekha)

6/7/2026

We've begun the 100-day countdown to Rosh Hashanah. (Yes, it feels too early.)

So it's especially fitting that this week's Torah portion provides tradition's words for the Great Forgiveness attached to the end of Kol Nidre.

But forgiveness for what? What awesome and terrible thing needed divine forgiveness back then? What most needs it now?

Rabbi's Corner: June 2026 – The Spirituality of Now and Then

6/1/2026

June brings summer and peak light (even if the weather has been finicky). For Shir Ami and many congregations, June is a "last hurrah" before summer break.

This year, because the High Holy Days come a bit "early," June also begins a "split screen" of focus on the Now of summer light and the Then of what's next.

There's a deep spirituality to fully living both Now and Then.

(Don't) Sound the Alarm (P. Pinhas)

When We Lose It (P. Hukkat-Balak)

Jews in Space, and Where We Came From (P. Korach)

One Hundred Days of . . . (P. Shlah Lekha)

Rabbi's Corner: June 2026 – The Spirituality of Now and Then

Categories

Archives

Mailing Address

Worship

Contact Us