Ten days ago, I had the honor of leading our Kabbalat Shabbat service at the start of Elul, the current and final month of the year in the Jewish calendar. It’s been three or four years since I started serving as a lay leader in the kehilah, a role I never imagined I would take Read More
Category: Hagim/Holidays
Preparing for the 5784 High Holy Days of Awe: Week 7
Chesed: Channeling Love for Ourselves, Each Other, and the Worldby Debra Seltzer NOTE: This is the 7th and final post in a series written by KSS members linking social and environmental justice issues to the 7 sephirot of the Omer cycle. To read the past six posts, please check our blog archive. We have come to the last week of Read More
Preparing for the 5784 High Holy Days of Awe: Week 6
NOTE: This is the 6th in a series of posts written by KSS members linking social and environmental justice issues to the 7 sephirot of the Omer cycle. To read the past five posts, please check our blog archive. WEEK 6: Gevurah: May My Left Hand Share Its Cunning by Jan Leibovitz Alloy I don’t tweet. I don’t boast photos Read More
Preparing for the 5784 High Holy Days of Awe: Week 5
NOTE: This is the 5th in a series of posts linking social and environmental justice issues to the 7 sephirot of the Omer cycle. To read the past four posts, please visit our blog. WEEK 5: Tiferet: Opening to Beauty & Brokenness by Michelle Moskowitz Brown The light of Tiferet is strong, demanding, radiant. Notice colors this Read More
Preparing for the 5784 High Holy Days of Awe: Week 4
NOTE: This is the 4th in a series of posts linking social and environmental justice issues to the 7 sephirot of the Omer cycle. Previous offerings are available in the archive of this blog. WEEK 4: “I believe I can do this!”: Learning from Nezach – Confidence/Persistencea Collaborative Offering, curated by Debra Seltzer Just over a year Read More
Preparing for the 5784 High Holy Days of Awe: Week 3
WEEK 3: Being Anti-Racist: Learning from the Sephira Hod – Humility/Gloryby Debra Seltzer For those of you who read my post in week one, about Israel-Palestine, I left some threads that connect to this week of introspection. I wrote that “the United States is my own country, with its own challenges which I am committed Read More
Preparing for the 5784 High Holy Days of Awe: Week 2
WEEK TWO: Yesod (Foundation) and the Environment by Doug Calem For humans, the earth is the yesod — the foundation — that supports life. One might say that recorded history is also a record of our relationship with and attitude towards the earth. Most of the historical record reveals a belief that we are separate Read More
Preparing for the 5784 High Holy Days of Awe: Week 1
R’ Alan Lew suggested that we need to prepare ourselves if we expect to embrace the full potential of the High Holy Days of Awe. Thanks to KSS Social Action Team Leader Debra Seltzer for spearheading our activities this season. This is your formal invitation to join Sukkat Shalom for another seven week cycle of self-reflective provocations in Read More
Meet Aviva Marchione, Our 5784 High Holiday Spiritual Leader
For the third year, Kehilat Sukkat Shalom is proud to welcome a Rabbinic Intern from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (RRC) to join us as a Spiritual Leader for the High Holy Days. Our Rosh haShanah and Yom Kippur prayer services and social gatherings are enhanced by the presence of guest leaders who bring a new Read More
Prepared for Passover?
When I was a kid, Passover was a really big deal. My earliest memories are from my maternal grandparents’ house in Miami. They set up a long table around which four generations of family members gathered with my Great Grandpa Victor at the helm. Those seders lasted a very long time. He led the service Read More