The Rabbi's Blog
January 2017
Rabbi’s Letter Practice Self Care: It’s a Mitzvah! Dear Friends, Happy 2017! If you are like me and millions of other Americans, you have recently made New Year’s resolutions. According to NBC News, the top eight most popular categories of 2017 resolutions focused on self-care. As I made my own resolution to go to sleep […]
read more »December 2016
Dear Friends, Today was the first snow. I woke early for a work trip, and amidst my rushing out to the car, I noticed how quiet the world had become. I stopped for a minute and stared up at the sky as the snowflakes swirled around me, and I felt grateful that nature had reminded me […]
read more »November 2016
Rabbi’s Letter Dear Friends, I write to you the morning after the election. Trump will be our next president. It should not be surprising that I am deeply disappointed and troubled at this turn of events, and concerned for our country’s racial, ethnic, religious, and cultural minorities. For me, this moment brings us three great […]
read more »September 2016
Dear Friends, The High Holidays are a time of sacred possibility. We imagine that despite the habits and shortcomings that have held us back in the past, this year, we have the capacity to be different. This year, we have the capacity to be our best selves, to forge the best relationships we can, create […]
read more »August 2016
Rabbi’s Letter Violence and Hatred in America: A Jewish Response Dear Friends, In last week’s Torah portion, Parashat Balak, King Balak sends his prophet Bilaam to curse the Israelites. Bilaam tries three times, and each time, with the intervention of an angel and a talking donkey, Bilaam winds up blessing the Israelites instead. Then, at […]
read more »June 2016
Rabbi’s Letter Emor and social action Dear Friends, Happy summer! As you know, our community is in the process of choosing our social action focus for the next year. We have narrowed it down to two choices: homelessness or climate change. In this letter, I will present how confronting each these issues is deeply rooted […]
read more »May 2016
Rabbi’s Letter by Margie Klein Admitting Our Mistakes Dear Friends, I want to share a teaching I read from Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, former Chief Rabbi of England, which I spoke about this past Shabbat. Rabbi Sacks publishes the sermons he has given every week for the past several years under a series called “Covenant […]
read more »April 2016
Rabbi’s Letter by Margie Klein Dear Friends, I write to share the teaching I offered this past Shabbat. We are now about halfway between Purim and Passover. On Purim, we usually focus on the costumes and the silliness. But before we put the holiday behind us fully this year, I want to offer a teaching […]
read more »March 2016
Rabbi’s Letter by Margie Klein Dear Friends, This month, I want to share with you the words of my dvar Torah on Parashat Ki Tissa, which reflect both on the Torah portion on how I hope we can move forward as a community as we pursue social action work together. Last week’s Torah portion, Ki […]
read more »February 2016
Rabbi’s Letter by Margie Klein Dear Friends, It was wonderful to return to work in January and to see so many people I care about. I am so grateful to have such a dynamic congregation to return to after maternity leave. For this month’s newsletter, I want to share some reflections I spoke about […]
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