Continued Response to the Events in Colleyville, TX
By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar As Jews and people in Jewish community, we have become far too accustomed to headlines, and a history, marked by the experience of Jews being targeted for our religious expression, for our heritage, for simply being different. It is deeply painful. It shouldn’t be that we have to expend our physical, […]
A Bat Mitzvah’s Teaching on Impressionability; And Reflections on Isolating with a Toddler
By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar What a lovely Shabbat we spent this past weekend as we celebrated Talia’s Bat Mitzvah. Talia’s Torah portion was Bo, the third portion in the Book of Exodus, which picks up in the midst of the ten plagues with God telling Moses “Bo el Paroah,” meaning, essentially, “Go before Pharaoh,” so that Moses would […]
Response to the Tragic Fire in Philadelphia
By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar The news out of another part of our community yesterday was wretched: twelve people dead, eight of whom were children, as a result of a fire in a house on the 800 block of North 23rd Street in the Fairmount neighborhood of Philadelphia, a mere couple of miles from our synagogue. […]
Finding a Middle Path to Forgiveness
By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar This past week we celebrated Jonah’s Bar Mitzvah. What a joyous occasion it was. Jonah’s Torah portion was Miketz. Miketz means, at the end. Whether this is referring to the end of the two years that our ancestor Joseph spends in prison before he is released, or the end of the era of the […]
Remarks from Hanukkat Mezuzah — Building Dedication Ceremony
By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar I’d also like to share with you the remarks I offered at our Hanukkat Mezuzah, our modest Building Dedication Ceremony on Sunday, in the hopes that they help lay out for us an intention as we occupy our newly revamped spaces, including the Paula Kline Learning Center: Mai Hanukkah. What is Hanukkah? […]