Eretz Yisrael- I Love Her: Shabbat Message by Rabbi Jessica Spitalnic Mates
Besides a few fans in the clergy office, I don’t know how many of you have heard of Shlomo Artzi. He is one of Israel’s most popular and enduring musicians. […]
Distinguishing Dark from Light: Shabbat Message by Rabbi Jessica Spitalnic Mates
Last week I had the immense honor of attending and presenting at a Holocaust Conference at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. I was there to present about […]
The Shofar Breaks Your Heart: Shabbat Message by Rabbi Jessica Spitalnic Mates
Last Sunday in religious school, the students and I studied the poem, The Shofar Breaks Your Heart by Dane Kuttler. The poem is about a little girl who is given […]
Devarim: Shabbat Message by Rabbi Jessica Spitalnic Mates
I have never been inside my son’s apartment in Los Angeles but I stare at the door from time to time hoping to see a glimpse of him…on Amazon. Often […]
Shelach L’Cha- Shabbat Message by Rabbi Jessica Spitalnic Mates
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum doesn’t open till 10:00 am, but for the seminar I attended in early June during my sabbatical we had to arrive there at 9:15 […]
There is Hope to be Found – Shabbat Message by Rabbi Jessica Spitalnic Mates
I sleep well, probably once every five nights. This ratio is resonant of advice I was given about my picky eater son when he was a toddler – as long […]
The Luck of the Jewish: Shabbat Message from Rabbi Jessica Spitalnic Mates
The Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH) in Worcester, Massachusetts or what my brother-in-law calls “The Irish Club,” starts celebrating St. Patrick’s Day over a week before March 17th. I started following […]
Reproductive Shabbat: Shabbat Message from Rabbi Jessica Spitalnic Mates
This week in our eighth-grade ethics class we started off by listening to songs by pop stars Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande. The songs we listened to involved both young […]
An Antisemitic Interruption: Shabbat Message from Rabbi Jessica Spitalnic Mates
The first time I encountered antisemitism was in college. It wasn’t directed at me per se, but it was a rally against Israel equating Israel with South Africa, and then, […]
How It Started….How It’s Going….: Shabbat Message from Rabbi Jessica Spitalnic Mates
There was a trend on social media a while back called “How It Started…How It’s Going.” People posted a picture from the beginning of a relationship or friendship, or of […]