SB Right – 3 Column
Ki Tavo
What a week – and more to come! Sunday morning we had our first B’nei Mitzvah class of the year with four students in attendance. Welcome Noah, Yardenne, Ariel and Sarahi. I think we are all in for a wonderful year of learning. We also started a new cycle of learning on Wednesdays at noon – we […]
Ki Teitzei
אֶ֕רֶץ אֲשֶׁר־יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ דֹּרֵ֣שׁ אֹתָ֑הּ תָּמִ֗יד עֵינֵ֨י יְהֹוָ֤ה אֱלֹהֶ֙יךָ֙ בָּ֔הּ מֵֽרֵשִׁית֙ הַשָּׁנָ֔ה וְעַ֖ד אַחֲרִ֥ית שָׁנָֽה׃ {ס} We read in Parashat Eikev, a few weeks ago, “It is a land which your God looks after, on which your God always keeps an eye, from year’s beginning to year’s end.” We think of these words as we welcome Stephen, Carolyn, and Nina into Judaism, and as […]
Elul
I have had a very special morning today; up at 4:30 to stand with three people who after two years (and more) of learning and practice have joined the holy covenant. After each person met with a Beit Din, this morning they (sequentially) entered the waters of life at very first light for mikvah. They […]
Summertime
Hello everyone, my days have been full: the figs are ripe (happy days), we have had a few long-overdue dinners, and we are looking forward to a few days with our son and grandchildren. Plus I have been planning weddings, setting up a Beit Din for three adults and one wee baby, B’nei Mitzvah planning, […]
Pinchas
What a week of blessing we have had, with more to come. Being in a community like Kolot Mayim is very much like being in that flowing river that Charlotte Marcovitz mentioned in her d’var about her parashah: Balaam sings in a poem to the nation Israel: “How goodly are your tents O Jacob, your dwelling […]
Balak
This week our Torah portion is called Balak – and yet even as the King of Moab appears to be calling the shots, it is the character of Bilam that is more intriguing. Bilam is a wizard – millennia before Hogwarts – and his reputation is known across the lands. Bilam is commanded by the […]
Chukat
July always seems to bring one of those very special weeks. This July brings two conversions completed – a few more to come later in the summer, (Mazal tov to Chasida Shai Fudger and Aidan Doduck); we will celebrate a Bat Mitzvah, (Mazal tov to Charlotte Marcovitz and her entire family); and we also celebrate […]
Korach
Korach, our Torah parashah this week, seemingly examines what happens to those who complain. The leader of the rebellion, also from the tribe of Levi, a cousin of Moshe, challenges his authority. Korach asks the question – “Isn’t this entire assembly a holy people.” Are we not equal? It is a question that resonates with […]
Nitzavim
September 19, 2022 by Rabbi Lynn Greenhough • From the Rabbi's Desk Tags: bubbe, mensch, Queen Elizabeth II •
A number of us watched the funeral services for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth on Monday morning. I was so struck by the exactitude of execution of each element of this service, the dignity and grace of the services, and by the sheer magnificence of the honours offered to her. This service truly was unlike anything […]