Sara Schwartz Chrismer’s Kallat Bereshit Speech 5787
Thank you Fran, for that wonderful introduction. It was through Fran, Jeremey, and the girls that we came to Society Hill Synagogue, just over 15 years ago. Fran has been a mentor and friend for almost two decades. She is the consummate servant leader — the embodiment of everything good at the School District of […]
Bruce Hirsch’s Hatan Torah Speech 5787
Good evening, and thank you, Avi, for your heartwarming introduction. I want to thank the committee for this great honor. I’d like to share a bit of my Jewish background. It shaped my connection to Judaism throughout my life. I grew up in a Jewish neighborhood in Chicago. We belonged to a traditional synagogue. My […]
The State of the Synagogue 5787
Yom Kippur 5787 by Neil Cohen, Synagogue President Rabbi, Hazzan, dear members and guests, on behalf of the lay leadership of Society Hill Synagogue, I wish you Shanah Tovah and G’mar Tov. It is an honor and a pleasure to address you today. For those of you who don’t know me, allow me to formally […]
Michael Hafter’s Hatan Torah Speech 5786
I grew up in a little town in New Jersey called Hammonton, which is known for blueberries — and for being the most Italian town in the country. There was a small synagogue — ninety seats. At its peak, the Jewish community in Hammonton was about twenty-four families. When my family moved there, in 1965, […]
Susan Berman’s Kallat Bereshit Speech 5786
I have tried many times to reject Judaism, but I have always been pulled back in. The first time was when I was in 10th or 11th grade, at Temple Sinai in Marblehead, Massachusetts – a seacoast town about 20 miles north of Boston. It’s a conservative synagogue – a right wing conservative synagogue. I […]