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 […]
The Power of Community in Challenging Moments
by Rabbi Nathan Kamesar I had hoped this week to simply share with you the D’var Torah I delivered this past Friday night to welcome our 61 new member households who joined over the past year, on the experience of entering a new community, and on the importance, in Jewish tradition, of welcoming and togetherness. […]
A Time for Wailing, A Time for Dancing
These verses from Ecclesiastes come to me in this moment that feels like both “a time for wailing and a time for dancing.”
A time for dancing because, after 15 months of war, hostages will be reunited with their families, rockets — at least between Israel and Hamas — will stop firing, families will return to their hometowns. Peace, albeit limited, tentative, and fragile, will reign.
Israel and Community, and the California Fires
by Rabbi Nathan Kamesar I’d like to share a reflection flowing out of a monthly course I’m teaching here at Society Hill Synagogue on Zionism: Understanding The Yearnings For A Jewish State. For the moment, I don’t want to get hung up on defining the word “Zionism;” people often mean different things when they invoke […]
The Jewish Story: Resounding Through the Shofar
Rosh Hashanah 5785 by Rabbi Nathan Kamesar This year has changed my relationship to what it means to be Jewish. Every year, during the High Holidays, I give a sermon, in one version or another, making the case for getting more deeply connected to Jewish communal life. I make this case because I genuinely believe […]