I look forward to seeing you at the S’lichot Service tonight.
from the URJ Website
S’lichot, a Hebrew word meaning “forgiveness,” refers to the special penitential prayers recited by Jews throughout the High Holy Days. Jews recite S’lichot beginning late at night on the Saturday before Rosh HaShanah and continue each morning on the days between the New Year and Yom Kippur.
As I sit and enjoy the beautiful sunshine after the small rainshower that was Hurricane Earl, I thought what better time could there be to organize all of my projects and tasks lists. It just happens to also be Labor Day weekend, so I have an extra day to do this! One of those projects is to post more information on this blog regarding upcoming events and “happenings” at the Temple. What else would you like to see in this blog?
Post a comment, be the first…start a trend 
What do you do to prepare for the High Holy Days? Do you have any family traditions that go along with celebrating the new Jewish Year? Maybe it is coming to services, throwing bread into the water for Tashlich, or having a meal with family and friends. Post a comment and let us know what you do to prepare for the High Holy Days and the new year 5771.
Jewish rituals and religious observances are grounded in Jewish law (halakhah, lit. “the path one walks.”) An elaborate framework of
divine mitzvot, or commandments, combined with rabbinic laws and traditions, this law is central to Judaism. (http://www.religionfacts.com/judaism/practices.htm)
Most of us are familiar with some of the traditional rituals of our
religion. Some of them are very close to my heart and others seem
foreign. For example, I love the ritual Seder of Passover. I always
find a new sense of community every time I join Rabbi and our
congregation at the temple Seder. I am not as familiar with rituals
such as keeping kosher in my home. There are less formal rituals that
I practice every day that help me to feel close to G-d. When I wake
up, I thank G-d for the morning, and when I leave my house, I pray for
my loved ones to have a safe and happy day. I greet the sun, rain, or
snow with a warm thank you to G-d as well. By repeating these same
actions every day, I have created a ritual. As we begin to create a
ritual committee, I would like to know what some of your rituals are.
Are there things that your family does on Shabbat that have become
ritual? Do you have special rituals for any of the holidays? Do you
perform a daily ritual that renews your a special connection with G-d?
By sharing our personal rituals, perhaps we could each find a new way
to connect with G-d!
Do you have any ideas regarding how B’nai Israel could become more green? Click below to post your comments.
One generation goes and another generation comes;
but the Earth remains forever. (Kohelet 1:4)
Greening Reform Judaism endeavors to promote an awareness of environmental considerations and environmentally responsible acts by integrating Jewish values, learning and actions that promote sh’mirat ha-adamah – protection and renewal of the world. Please click here to visit the URJ Greening Reform Judaism page.
As many of you know I have always lived a spiritual life. Throughout my life I have adopted and adapted spiritual practices to my personal prayer experience including meditation, contemplation, and visualization techniques. Over the years I have brought these techniques to B’nai Israel.
I would love to know what programs over the years you have enjoyed and want to see more of. I would also like to hear about some of your personal spiritual practices that we could bring into programs or services.
By the way, after each Friday night service between now and Shavuot I am holding a meditation on the blessings in our lives. Why not join in!
Rabbi Moss
I am a volunteer. I started volunteering for the Ducks Games last year. This year I am helping Lloyd Levine with raising troops for the effort. For those of you who are not familiar with our Ducks Fundraising…read ahead. The Long Island Ducks are a minor league baseball team and they play in Central Islip by the courts. We man one of their concession stands with volunteers from the Temple, some not from the Temple, like my parents. Thanks Mom and Dad. We take orders from customers and serve them. No experience neccessary. The Temple gets a percentage of the profits. Obvioulsy, being human, I was nervous the first time. It’s so easy that you get the hang of it pretty quickly. It’s alot of fun because of the energy and the excitement from the customers as well as getting to know other Temple members. I’ve made a few new friends and I’m glad I am able to contribute to the Temple. There is always someone who keeps us entertained while working so the time goes by quickly…and at the end you can enjoy a free hot dog. Yum!
There was a great article in the New York Jewish Week by Gary Rosenblatt on 3/24/2010 which I read just before Passover. I suggest that you take a few moments to click here and read the article.
The passage that jumped out at me was “We seem to be trying to convince younger Jews that they need what we are offering rather than listening to what it is they want. And what they want — at least those with any interest in Jewish life — is hands-on, accessible projects that speak more to universal than parochial concerns, like social justice, social networking and the environment.”
While those of us who are involved know the benefits of being a part of the Temple community it is difficult to impart that knowledge to others. Priorities in peoples lives have shifted from years ago and I believe we need to do our best to be in tune with what the future generations of our Temple are interested in.
I’d love to hear your thoughts and suggestions.
For the first Passover Seder we hosted in our home we bought a cookbook. I had no idea what to make, what to put on a Seder plate, and wanted to know…what is gefilte fish anyway? The book we purchased was titled Let My People Eat!: Passover Seders Made Simple by Zell Schulman. I loved the title and did judge the book by its cover. I know I am not supposed to do that but this time it worked to my advantage. What a great cookbook! The drawings, checklists, and recipes did make it simple. The book also has recipes to use for the entire week of Passover.
The tradition we have taken from this book (whether or not we have a Seder at our home) is to make our own horseradish. If you have never made you own, you should give it a try. It requires only a few ingredients and with a food processor does not take long to make at all.
Anyone who tried our horseradish at last years Temple Passover Seder will tell you, it cleared their sinuses in an instant! This year we will bring it again – maybe we should bring some tissues too.
So, what Passover traditions and stories do you have to share… Click Comments below and join the conversation.