Tag: #community
community
Every1Counts: Days 14 and 15 (a double portion because it will soon be Shabbat)
April 13, 2018 28 Nisan, 5778
TONIGHT IS FOURTEEN DAYS, WHICH IS TWO WEEKS, OF THE OMER
My response when people ask me what kind of Jew I am is, “I’m a mutt!” While I worked in a (mostly) Reform (but also Conservative) congregation, I sent my kids to Solomon Schechter day school, a hallmark of the Conservative movement. Growing up, I went to an Orthodox day school and attended a Reconstructionist synagogue on the Upper West Side. A large dose of Reform, a healthy heaping of Orthodox, a few cups of Conservative and a dash of Reconstructionist – you can see why “mutt” seems like the right answer.
At the end of the day, I don’t believe my denomination of Judaism matters. As an adult, my idea of being Jewish is to pull from all of these traditions in order to make a Judaism that is personal, relevant, and meaningful to my family and me. This often entails creating my own version of things.
Judaism is not just about following the rules in an old set of books. It is about helping us answer the most fundamental questions about our lives, and we are entitled to draw on every part of our rich tradition to do so.
Pamela Barkley
April 14, 2018 29 Nisan, 5778
TONIGHT IS FIFTEEN DAYS, WHICH IS TWO WEEKS AND ONE DAY, OF THE OMER
*We are posting this response today, so you do not have to use your computer/phone on Shabbat.
It offers a sense of belonging. To be part of a group of people with very much in common.
NEIL B.
Every1Counts: Day 13
April 12, 2018 27 Nisan, 5778
TONIGHT IS THIRTEEN DAYS, WHICH IS ONE WEEK AND SIX DAYS, OF THE OMER
Being Jewish to me means being very family oriented. When at Temple being with a community of loving and caring people. Feeling at peace listening to the Rabbi and Cantor also while praying out loud or silently. Knowing that nothing can happen while I am at Temple. Making new friends and helping when I can, no matter the age. Knowing how I feel or how I believe does not matter, I am accepted for me. Being Jewish is accepting people in your life who have different beliefs or different ideas how they want to live their life. Being Jewish to me is the most wonderful feeling and knowing no one can take that away.
Laurie Bauer
Every1Counts: Day 12
April 11, 2018 26 Nisan, 5778
TONIGHT IS TWELVE DAYS, WHICH IS ONE WEEK AND FIVE DAYS, OF THE OMER
Being Jewish means lighting Shabbat candles in a hotel room, on a train, once using two red Crayolas at a Friendly’s on a road trip with the kids, as stand-ins for candles.
It means my daughter calling me every Friday night for the last 12 years, no matter where she is, even from Cuba, to wish me Shabbat Shalom.
It means building a Sukkah with my dad and having my whole family pile in for pizza.
It means my husband and I cancelling a trip abroad when we belatedly realized it would fall during Rosh Hashanah.
Being Jewish and part of this community means friends, family, and neighbors walking me around the block on the last day of shiva after my mom’s death to end the period of mourning, and right into Shabbat dinner to begin life again.
Sharon DeLevie
Every1Counts: Day 11
April 10, 2018 25 Nisan, 5778
TONIGHT IS ELEVEN DAYS, WHICH IS ONE WEEK AND FOUR DAYS, OF THE OMER
I’d like to share a story that I feel sums up my feelings on being Jewish. I walked into a meeting at a brand new school wearing my Tel Aviv University sweatshirt. Immediately, I was asked by one of my classmates if I had studied in Tel Aviv and about my connection to Israel. I made a new friend, based solely on the fact that we both could understand the Hebrew on my shirt. Being Jewish means wherever I go, I will have a community. I will always be part of something bigger than myself, and I am reminded of that every day. Perhaps most importantly, being Jewish has given me the opportunity to connect to Israel in a very unique way. Israel has given me a second home, where even taxi drivers say Shabbat Shalom on Friday nights. I cannot adequately express how that feels in words, to know there is a place where I will always be accepted and safe.
Arielle Gur
Every1Counts: Days 7 and 8 (a double portion because it will soon be Shabbat)
April 6, 2018 21 Nisan, 5778
TODAY IS SEVEN DAYS, WHICH IS ONE WEEK, OF THE OMER
Being Jewish for me is about blessings—not only for milestones but during each and every day. We are blessed to connect to those we love, and to people we have yet to befriend. We are blessed to find identity and purpose and to be able to rally resources to meet challenges. We are blessed to learn. We are certainly blessed to be part of a rich tradition and to be able to expand upon that tradition to make it meaningful.
I recognize the blessings of celebration: the seasonal cycle of holidays and the weekly joy of Shabbat. And I marvel at raising our family in a community that feels like family: Temple Beth Abraham, a huge blessing in our lives.
Jennifer Povman
April 7, 2018 22 Nisan, 5778
TODAY IS EIGHT DAYS, WHICH IS ONE WEEK AND ONE DAY, OF THE OMER
*We are posting this response today, so you do not have to use your computer/phone on Shabbat.
It’s hard to put into words exactly what being Jewish means to me. It’s a feeling I can’t quite describe. I will say it means being part of a family and community. It means carrying on traditions that have been passed down from generation to generation. It means friendship and love. It means holidays – and food. It means being able to share with my children something that is so special and important to me. And it makes me proud.
Andrea W.
Every1Counts: Day 5
April 4, 2018 19 Nisan, 5778
TODAY IS FIVE DAYS OF THE OMER
Being Jewish means; going to temple,
Being Jewish means; being inviting, also believing in yourself, trusting others,
Being Jewish means; saying prayers to God in temple,
Being Jewish means; going to Hebrew School,
Being Jewish means; becoming a bar or bat mitzvah,
Being Jewish means; celebrating holidays,
Being Jewish means; believing in God,
Being Jewish means; spending time together during holidays,
Being Jewish means; I respect my attire? Affect? Effect?
Being Jewish means; praying and celebrating,
Being Jewish means; keeping the traditions of Judaism with my family,
Being Jewish means; being part of a community.
Rabbi Justin Schwartz and Cantor Mandi Beckenstein’s Sunday 6th grade class of 2017-18
Every1Counts: Day 2
April 1, 2018 16 Nisan, 5778
TODAY IS TWO DAYS OF THE OMER
Gathering! Community! Family! One of my favorite things about being Jewish is that we are called go join together. Our commemorations and celebrations are meant to be marked with others. Joining together, either at TBA, or around someone’s dining table to grieve a loss, to celebrate a new life or marriage or to celebrate a holyday helps us lean on each other and to raise each other up.
As a kid I looked forward to joining my extended family for Rosh Hashanah or Passover and now as an adult, with a family of my own, I love that our house tends to be a central place for our family to gather to celebrate these same events.
As we celebrate Passover we begin to count the Omer. Traditionally this was a counting of the harvest which would hopefully reap a good crop that would sustain the farmer and his family for the year. As we, who are not farmers, count our blessings we come together as an extended family and live the phrase “it takes a village” because that is what it takes to be a community.
Cantor Margot E.B. Goldberg
Every1Counts: Day 1
March 31, 2018 15 Nisan, 5778
TODAY IS ONE DAY OF THE OMER
We begin Counting the Omer
We begin counting after sundown tonight, at the second seder.
(Since this is the Passover holiday, we are posting this prior to the first seder, so you do not have to use your computer on the holiday.)
Since 2012 we here at TBA have turned the Omer period between Passover and Shavuot into an amazing program called Every1Counts (E1C). This year, we’d are sharing the voices of our congregation. This year we wish to enhance our community by listening to each other, so we asked you to tell us, in 150 words or less, “What Does Being Jewish Mean to You?”
Now, for each day of the 49 days of the omer, we will share one response to this question.
Lox, Bagels, and Kasha Varnishkes. L’dor va’dor, Tikkun Olam, Mitzvahs. Dancing the Hora, Hiding the Matzah, Blessing the Challah. And, of course, Israel.
I feel blessed to be a part of a community that shares so many beautiful customs and beliefs, and cares so deeply about repairing our world. My synagogue is my “happy place,” and my clergy and congregation make me smile. I love “belonging,” and welcoming others.
Like the embrace of my Tallit, Judaism warms and comforts me. Like grandma’s chicken soup, Judaism nourishes and sustains me. With rich tradition and history, Judaism anchors and supports me.
My Judaism calms, centers and soothes me. For me, Judaism is that warm cozy knowledge that you are home.
Debra Drattell
