The Special Time of Jewish Weddings, Tragedy in Philly, and Turmoil in Israel
By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar Dear Friends, I just got back from a brief vacation in Portland, Oregon where Caroline and I attended my sister’s wedding, which I was honored to officiate. Jewish (and presumably all) weddings are aimed at capturing an experience that can seemingly transcend time: the sheva berachot, the seven blessings that make up […]
Belief in Our Capacities | A Tale of Two Ships
By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar This past week at Shabbat services (9:45 am – 12 noon followed each week by lunch with the community) we discussed the notorious incident of the twelve scouts. As the Israelites are approaching the land of their ancestors, God instructs them to send twelve representatives, from each of the tribes, to […]
A Year In Review, And The Year To Come
By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar Dear Friends, We’ve reached, in many ways, our summer season, featuring a different pace. We catch our breaths a bit from the year that has been, while also taking advantage of this slower pace to lay the groundwork for the year to come. This spirit informed my remarks at the Society […]
What Our Own Prayers Can Say
By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar Last week we talked about the Amidah, and we talked about the Amidah because it is in some ways the perfect encapsulation of the tension between two instincts when it comes to prayer in Jewish tradition—one instinct in prayer is the spontaneous, the extemporaneous, the speaking purely from the heart; the […]
Tribute to Rabbi Avi, my Mentor and Friend
By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar I’ve been waiting a long time for this opportunity—the opportunity to pay tribute to a cherished mentor and a dear friend, Rabbi Avi Winokur. The annals of synagogue histories are replete with stories of contentiousness between Senior Rabbis and Rabbis Emeritus. Not here. Not with Rabbi Winokur. No one with his […]