From The Rabbi

A clipart drawing of ten people sitting in a circle facing each other.

From the Rabbi – March 2024

community, From The Rabbi, Israel, Newsletter

As a rabbi I am here to serve everyone in our community. I aspire to be here for you in sickness and in health, in celebration and in sorrow. I have the holy opportunity to learn and to teach, to rejoice and to mourn, and to build community with each and every one of you. I take this covenant seriously, and it is one of the things I love most about the work that I am blessed to do. I will always strive to approach any differences we may have with curiosity and an open heart. And I always want to hear from you about where you are and what matters to you. Many of you have asked what I think about what’s happening in Gaza and Israel. In a word, I am heartbroken. Every time I pray, these days, I pray with all my heart for a negotiated bilateral ceasefire, return of all hostages, and an end to enmity between Israelis and Palestinians.

CBI Labyrinth

March 2024 | Adar-II 5784

Annual Meeting, community, events, From The President, Newsletter, Pesach, Purim

As the days get longer and we are awakened in the morning by the songs of birds newly arrived from points south, we are looking forward to all that spring brings to our community.

Ashira L’Adonai - I Will Sing to God; from Parashat Beshalach - Exodus 15:1-21.

Guest Post: Quiet Places & Stillness: The Importance of Shabbat in a Busy World

D'vrei Torah, divrei Torah, guest posts, Shabbat, spiritual life

This guest post is the D’var Torah that CBI member and cantorial soloist Ziva Larson offered at Shabbat Morning Services on Saturday, March 2, 2024.

Community Means: Terumah 5784 / 2024

"...This is an easy platitude that can be difficult to live: especially when we disagree, or when we feel afraid, or when emotions run high. This understanding of community asks us to cultivate curiosity about each others’ perspectives and hopes and dreams, and to resist stereotyping each other or writing each other off. This might sound small, but it’s hugely important. I mean, according to Torah, this is literally how we make space for God in our world. ..."

A wheel-shaped calendar that features the 12 months of the Jewish calendar and the 12 months of the secular calendar.

From the Rabbi – February 2024

Adar, From The Rabbi, Newsletter, Purim

This year is a Leap Year… twice. On the Gregorian calendar, we get February 29th, an extra day added every four years to more or less keep our 365-day calendar aligned with the sun. On the Jewish calendar, we get not an extra day but a whole extra month.

Four photos from Jewish Journeys Shabbat on 2/3/2024. Student-made zines (top L); plates, cups, & other homemade ceramics (top R); Rabbis Jarah & Rachel singing & playing guitar (bottom L); cardboard dioramas (bottom R).

February 2024 | Adar-I 5784

community, education, events, From The President, Newsletter, Purim, Shabbat

I am still kvelling about the wonderful Jewish Journeys Shabbat service last Saturday morning, when our community, including students, their parents, grandparents, and other congregants, gathered in our sanctuary to celebrate Shabbat together in song and prayer. Students’ work from their elective classes was featured, and the D’var Torah was given by one of our students. Afterwards, everyone enjoyed a communal potluck kiddush.

Bringing Repair: Mishpatim 5784 / 2024

divrei Torah, tikkun olam

"...All week as I’ve been working on this d’var Torah, I’ve been struggling with the sense that nothing I’m saying here is new. We all know that the fall of Roe has had precipitous and terrible impacts. But it feels important to name these realities, again, and to remind ourselves that we have an opportunity and an obligation to try to help fix what has been broken..."

Ashira L’Adonai - I Will Sing to God; from Parashat Beshalach - Exodus 15:1-21.

Guest Post: Ashira L’Adonai – I Will Sing to God

D'vrei Torah, divrei Torah, guest posts, spiritual life

This guest post is the D’var Torah that CBI member and cantorial soloist Ziva Larson offered at Shabbat Morning Services on Saturday, January 27, 2024.

The Habit of Extending a Hand: Bo 5784 / 2024

divrei Torah, From The Rabbi

"...Nobody can bootstrap themself. Our work in this life is to free each other..."

Don’t Let Despair Win: Vaera 5784 / 2024

...Rev. King taught that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” What he didn’t say, maybe because it was so obvious to him, is that it only does so when we keep bending it....

Happy Tu BiShvat

From the Rabbi – January 2024

From The Rabbi, Newsletter, spiritual life, Tu BiShvat

Happy 2024! I love having two opportunities each year to begin again – first in the fall at Rosh Hashanah, then in the winter with New Year’s Day. Beginning again is a valuable spiritual practice, a reminder that we don’t have to be stuck in what was but rather can cultivate the promise of something new.

CBI Labyrinth

January 2024 | Shevat 5784

Chanukah, community, events, From The President, Jewish values, Newsletter

December was quite a month! During the week of Chanukah, we hosted and participated in a wonderful series of programs to celebrate the holiday.

Lost and Found: Miketz 5784 / 2023

"[W]here Jacob seems to me to be shut-down, internally adrift, Joseph seems to emerge from the crucible of his losses with humility and increased capacity to care for others..."

Encounters: Vayishlach 5784 / 2023

"When we choose to see Jacob and Esav’s encounter as genuine, we’re saying: sibling rivalry isn’t the only option. We’re embracing hope for better. We’re affirming that we want to be on a trajectory toward mutual trust, seeing each other generously, creatively visioning a shared future that’s better than our past. We can’t change Torah, but we can change the story of now. Past doesn’t have to be prologue. We can write a different ending."

Clipart of menorahs, dreidels, and doves on a light teal background.

From the Rabbi – December 2023

Chanukah, From The Rabbi, Israel, Newsletter, spiritual life

The big mitzvah associated with Chanukah is pirsumei nisa, “publicizing the miracle.” Tradition teaches us to place the Chanukah lights someplace where they will be seen. (Unless we fear for our lives, in which case tradition permits us to keep our light under the proverbial bushel.) We display our lights to publicize the miracle: the oil that lasted until new oil could be made; the leap of faith that led us to kindle light in the first place; the miracle of hope in times of despair. Especially this year, holding fast to hope and to Jewish joy feels like a radical act… and a necessary one.