“Your People Are My People”

by Rabbi Nathan Kamesar I’m writing to share the D’var Torah I delivered this past Friday night when we hosted our Scholar-in-Residence, Rabbi Sharon Cohen Anisfeld, who offered incredible teachings Friday and Saturday. I gave our scholar-in-residence this Shabbat carte blanche to select a topic to teach about, a right she has earned both by […]
Debbie Jaffe

Debbie (she/her) has been the B’nei Mitzvah tutor at Society Hill Synagogue since 2017, but she has been teaching kids how to read Torah since she was 15 years old. She has mentored hundreds of students for their B’nei Mitzvah services in Philadelphia, New York, and Los Angeles since 2000. Debbie received her B.A. from […]
Shabbat of… the Cow?

by Rabbi Nathan Kamesar I’m writing to share with you the teaching I delivered this past Shabbat, a Shabbat which called upon us to begin spiritually opening ourselves in preparation for the Pesah (Passover) holiday: There are nine special Shabbatot, special Sabbaths, sprinkled throughout the Jewish year that receive their own name because of special […]
Director of Youth and Family Education — Full Time
About Our Hebrew School Society Hill Synagogue’s Ann Spak Thal Hebrew School grounds students’ experiences in Jewish text, tradition, and community. Our vibrant school immerses children and adolescents in the rhythms of Jewish life, empowering them to forge their own authentic relationships with Judaism. We aim to help students see the Jewish community as a […]
A Five-Year-Old’s Friend, Ukraine, and Our Extra Shabbat Souls

by Rabbi Nathan Kamesar Dear friends, I’ve been sitting for a while with the events of the last week — the confirmation of the deaths of hostages: the Bibas children, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, ages four years and nine months when kidnapped; and their mother, Shiri; alongside peace activist Oded Lifshitz — may their memories […]