“Love the stranger…”
“…A northern Berkshire host team of volunteers has come together to support a young family fleeing from Haiti, a married couple with two young children under the age of three…”
Entries by Rachel Barenblat
Touching Eternity: Emor 5783 / 2023
“This week’s Torah portion, Emor, gives us a roadmap for the spiritual flow of the Jewish year….”
From the Rabbi – May 2023
Late this month we’ll reach the festival of Shavuot. When the Temple stood Shavuot was one of the Shalosh Regalim, the three big pilgrimage-festivals when we would travel en masse to Jerusalem to make offerings at the Temple. Shavuot is the culmination of the seven weeks of counting the Omer, and was once a harvest festival. (It still is, among Jews who farm.) But today Shavuot is best known as the holiday when we celebrate receiving Torah at Sinai.
Caring for Our Earth
“…Wise and compassionate stewardship of our land has been a Jewish value ever since the Garden of Eden. In this era of climate crisis, it’s important to care not only for our grounds, but also for the local ecosystem of which we are a part.
Here at CBI we’re doing a few different things to live out this Jewish value…”
Guest Post: Finding Freedom and Hope in a Time of New Beginnings
This guest post is the D’var Torah that CBI member and cantorial soloist Ziva Larson offered at Shabbat and Pesach Morning Services on Saturday, April 8, 2023.
From the Rabbi – April 2023
This year the month of April opens with Pesach. I love all of the shining moments around the wheel of the Jewish year, but ever since I was a kid, Pesach has been one of my favorites. (And it still is.) Studies have shown that the Passover seder is the one Jewish ritual most commonly celebrated in this country — from Jews who aspire to experience Shabbat each week, to Jews who may only engage in one avowedly Jewish celebration per year, this one is always on the list.
Take a Lamb: Shabbat HaGadol 5783
“…Granted, change may not be easy. Our spiritual ancestors went from Pharaoh’s frying pan into the fire of forty years of wilderness wandering. But the fact of a new path is hopeful even if the path is hard. Because nihilism and despair and paralysis say: nothing’s ever going to be different. What’s broken will always be broken and can never be mended, so it isn’t worth even trying. But it is worth trying…”
Hate Has No Home Here
“…If we’re feeling uncertain about how we’re going to get to a better place than this, we’re in synch with our ancient spiritual calendar. The story of the Exodus is one of venturing into the unknown. It’s a story of stepping into the sea, not knowing whether or how the waters would part. I take heart in remembering that now, as then, we don’t have to cross the sea alone….”
To Be In Community: Vayakhel-Pekudei 5783 / 2023
“…Those who seek to take away rights tend not to stop after taking rights or self-determination away from a single group…”
Second Night Community Seder 5783
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