Shabbat and Holidays

Drops of Torah from our members

DROPS OF TORAH FROM OUR MEMBERS

We all have the capacity to share our wisdom and reflections about the Torah texts we read each week. The Congregation Beth Israel Drops of Torah project provides an opportunity for people to share a brief reflection or short insight about the week's Torah portion. These short pieces are written by our members with support from our rabbis (as needed). Consider signing up for a drop of Torah. For more information, contact Rabbi Nathan Martin rabbinathan@bethisraelmedia.org

High Holy Days at Congregation Beth Israel - 2018

By MathKnight [<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0">CC BY-SA 4.0 </a>], <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shofar-16-sky-Zachi-Evenor.jpg">from Wikimedia Commons</a>Beginning on Rosh Chodesh Elul (August 11), the blasts of the shofar will herald the new year and call us to the task of looking inward as we prepare to do teshuvah – to repent, to return, to make positive change.  Our services during these Days of Awe (Yamim Nora’im) gather the entire community together to engage with this important spiritual work.

To promote that engagement, we encourage you to review in advance the information below:

The Month of Tishrei - From Metaphor to Practice

Submitted by nmartin on September 2, 2018 - 3:00pm

As we move into September and the Jewish month of Tishrei, we enter into our most liturgically intensive time of the Jewish year. This can be a dizzying few weeks, moving from Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur to Sukkot and Simchat Torah. This is a movement also from the solemnity and humility of the Yamim Noraim (the awe-filled days) to the celebration of the joyfulness and abundance of Sukkoth and Simchat Torah.

Our ancestors’ metaphors for the Divine at these different moments seem to shift as well. On Rosh Hashanah, God is envisioned as sovereign and judge,

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