Tag: #TBA_E1C
TBA Every1Counts
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: Day 10
April 9, 2018 24 Nisan, 5778
TONIGHT IS TEN DAYS, WHICH IS ONE WEEK AND THREE DAYS, OF THE OMER
The essence of being Jewish for me centers on the celebration of Shabbat. Shabbat enables me to take a step back from everyday life, and to pause, recharge and reconnect to the divine. The ritual of observing Shabbat at Temple Beth Abraham is especially comforting, where the supportive atmosphere fostered by Rabbi David and Cantor Margot allows me to turn my gaze inward and then upward, to meditate on the lessons of the Torah, and to draw closer to Adonai.
S.A. Cember
Every1Counts: Day 9
April 8, 2018 23 Nisan, 5778
TONIGHT IS NINE DAYS, WHICH IS ONE WEEK AND TWO DAYS, OF THE OMER
What does it mean to be Jewish? I think that’s a hard question. I breathe Jewish. It’s in my fiber. I can’t tell you exactly what that means, but I think that nearly everything I do, I do Jewishly. Counting the Omer? Sadly, not so much. I forget, Jewishly.
Marla
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 6
April 5, 2018 20 Nisan, 5778
TODAY IS SIX DAYS OF THE OMER
Carrying the responsibility to make the world a better place.
Jim G.
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 4
April 3, 2018 18 Nisan, 5778
TODAY IS FOUR DAYS OF THE OMER
Gratitude. Awe. Reverence. Responsibility. History. Deep sorrow. Abiding Joy.
April D.
Every1Counts: Day 3
April 2, 2018 17 Nisan, 5778
TODAY IS THREE DAYS OF THE OMER
It means I’m special. Despite millennia of hatred and venom directed against [Jews], I belong to a people who were bent but not broken. It is more than a religion. It is more than an identity. It is a state of being.
Steve G.
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
