by Rabbi Nathan Kamesar Dear Friends, Last week, in our weekly Torah discussion, we discussed Parashat Devarim, the Torah portion known as Devarim, which is the first portion of the fifth and final book of the Torah. The book’s Hebrew name is also Devarim (the first Torah portion of each
by Rabbi Nathan Kamesar Dear Friends, Over the past couple of weeks we’ve been encountering some difficult material in the Torah during our weekly reading on Shabbat, material all Jewish communities all around the world read according to the same schedule. Each week at Society Hill Synagogue, we take a
by Rabbi Nathan Kamesar Dear Friends, If you attended our Congregation Annual Meeting in June, read Lisa Eizen’s — our immediate past synagogue President — recent Kesher article, or perhaps attended one of our TGIShabbat Friday night services in May, would have encountered the following news: the Society Hill Synagogue
by Rabbi Nathan Kamesar Dear Friends, The tradition, as I have done before, is to write on the 4th of July — especially on the semiquincentennial, the 250th anniversary of this country’s independence — about the hopes and ideals upon which this nation was founded; perhaps about the complications and
by Rabbi Nathan Kamesar Dear Friends, In this week’s reflections, I wanted to share a little bit about some of the discoveries we have made together in our weekly Torah discussion that takes place every Saturday morning during our Shabbat services here at Society Hill Synagogue. Services begin each week
by Rabbi Nathan Kamesar Dear Friends, This is a vital time in the life of our synagogue community, and that is because it is synagogue membership season. For some, the notion of synagogue membership is an old hat, a standard element of Jewish communal life. For others, it’s something of