Temple Beth El | News/Blog

“The heavens and the earth were finished, and all their array…” Centuries ago, the early rabbis of our tradition established the custom of reciting those words from Genesis 2, the conclusion of the seven days of creation, to begin the Shabbat Kiddush. Shabbat is, among other things, our celebration of

In this week’s parashah, Matot Maasei, it is written: “Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes of Israel, saying, “This is the word that God has commanded. If a person makes a vow to God or swears an oath, they must not permit their word to remain unfulfilled. They

This past week, I had the opportunity to witness the Broken Wand Ceremony. The Broken Wand Ceremony is a tribute that is done for a magician at the time of their funeral. A fellow magician conducted the ceremony. After a few words, the magician made a wand magically appear and

Ma Tovu Ohalecha Ya’akov, Mishkenotecha Yisrael! How good are your tents O Jacob, your dwelling places O Israel! Numbers 24:5   With these words, the prophet Balaam, praised and blessed our people. He had been called upon by the Moabite king Balak to curse the Israelites, but when his mouth

I can’t get the image out of my mind.  A two year-old toddler wandering amidst the chaos and horror, looking for his parents, whom he does not know are lying dead among the dozens of others murdered and injured, who simply had come to enjoy a Fourth of July Parade.

A regular blog series from Temple Beth El, bringing you moments of heart and insight from Rabbi Emeritus Merle E. Singer. In life, we have chances and opportunities. In life, we can either be the lifesaver toward others or the passerby. I ask you, which are you? As a Rabbi,

As the child of a rabbi, I learned early on one of the most important things there was to learn at a synagogue: who had the best candy in their office. That distinction went to Rabbi Eli Herscher who had a little red M&M dispenser in his office. For me,

This morning, the Supreme Court issued an opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization striking down Roe v. Wade, the seminal decision in 1973 that secured a woman’s right to choose to terminate a pregnancy. The result of this reversal will be to return the question of abortion to

Over the past few years, it has become more and more common to see rainbow colors in the month of June. Business and corporations, schools, and organizations like ours have made it a common practice to draw attention to Pride Month by changing their logo color, selling rainbow versions of