Today is April 26, 2024 /
Today is April 26, 2024 /
Building Community Since 1954
A Progressive Conservative Synagogue Serving Central Florida
(407) 647-3055 | manager@tiflorida.org
50 S. Moss Rd., Winter Springs, FL 32708
What an unpleasant family scene. By the time the parashah ends with the separation of Lavan and Yaakov, we have had twenty years of strife. Between Lavan and Yaakov the most; Lavan tricking Jacob into marrying Leah after 7 years of work and then extracting another 7 years to marry Rachael – the one he Continue Reading »
Over the past few months I have found it a challenge to sufficiently explain what the Hebrew word Kehilla means. The English words ‘community’ and ‘congregation’ just don’t say enough to convey what is meant by Kehilla. But for those of us who had the privilege of being in attendance on this past Shabbat, the Continue Reading »
Rockets have struck Tel Aviv. For the first time a rocket was fired at Jerusalem. Not all of the rockets have only struck empty streets or buildings. People are dying. When faced with such a situation, it is important to learn the right lessons from the parashah. Among all the many things that happen in Continue Reading »
Sarah dies. Abraham dies. Ishmael dies. According to the midrash, Rivka’s father, Betuel dies. That makes four deaths in one Parashah, which, counting named characters, is the highest total of any Parashah. One of them is not like the other though. Sarah, Abraham and Ishmael all die of old age in the fullness of their years. Continue Reading »
How do you sum up one of the richest Torah portions in two minutes? Issues ranging from justice to family relations to fair dealings to God’s mercy and punishments to trials and tests of faith all stretch across the tapestry of vayeira. We start with the foretelling of Isaac, a child to be born to Continue Reading »
After a quiet Yom Kippur on the Kibbutz, we headed to Jerusalem yesterday. But before I describe that, let me first share my thoughts about Yom Kippur. As Yom Kippur approached on Friday afternoon, station after station on the TV went off. Instead of programming there was just a graphic or picture that included Gemar Continue Reading »
Yesterday I spent the morning at the Ghetto Fighter’s Museum at Kibbutz Lohamei Haghetaot, the Ghetto Fighter’s Kibbutz. It is located between Akko and Nahariya. It was quite the morning. The displays and commentaries were excellent. There is a large exhibition about the Warsaw Ghetto and one on the Jewish resistance. There is a moving Continue Reading »
It’s late afternoon on Sunday, the first day of the Israeli work/school week. It was a long, quiet weekend with Thursday, Friday and Saturday all being holy days. For many Israelis the extra long weekend meant being with family, having picnics, going to the beach or sightseeing. There were families on the move everywhere you Continue Reading »
So, one of the first things I have learned about blogging is – you really can’t do it from an I-pod! That’s why my posts are more sporadic than I had thought they would be. I have to wait until I am at my daughter’s apartment where I can takeover her computer for awhile. On Continue Reading »
So we arrived in Israel after a long flight to find one of our daughters waiting for us in the lobby of the airport…what a wonderful sight! It is always such a thrill to arrive, to get the first glimpse of the land, to see Hebrew everywhere and just breathe the air. I know that Continue Reading »