The balance between nurturing our roots, and being entangled in them
By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar Two weeks ago on November 19, we celebrated the Bar Mitzvah of Felix Edelman. Felix’s parashah (Torah portion) was Chayei Sara, a phrase which literally translates to “the life of Sara,” Sara being the foremost matriarch of the Jewish people. The parashah opens with Sara’s life coming to an end, her husband Abraham grieving her, and […]
Comfort in the Unknown, Faith in the Other
By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar When we celebrate a Bar Mitzvah in our synagogue community, we like to offer, in this weekly email a summary of the teaching offered by the young person in our community who celebrated becoming Bar Mitzvah. This past week it was Xander Segal, who, according to his mother Verna, is the fourth generation […]
The Sacredness of Our Democracy • Rising Antisemitism
By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar I have long loved election day. The act of casting one’s vote is a truly sacred one to me. Never mind that in Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania just elected its second Jewish governor in the 21st century (who shares a high school alma mater with my wife, no less: suburban Philadelphia’s pluralistic Jewish secondary […]
The Bare Holiday Landscape Ahead of Us
By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar The dust has settled. After 20 services over a period of 30 days, 2 services every three days for a month, we’ve finally reached a period of relative calm. And then the Phillies had to go and liven things back up for us again. In all seriousness, we find ourselves in […]
Hatan Torah and Kallat Bereshit 2022
By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar So here we are to celebrate our Chatan Torah and Kallat Bereshit. In some ways, it’s a funny name to extend to this honor, to the honor of recognizing two distinguished legacies of service to our synagogue community. It’s a name that goes back centuries to the distinguished community members who were given the […]