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Rabbi Hugenholtz’s Vigil Remarks
Between the fire and thunder of Sinai, a moral voice rang out clearly with a principle that would be echoed in our tradition time and again: You shall love the stranger for you were strangers in Egypt.
Permission to Stop
We are intimately familiar with such rabbinic practices such as lighting candles, Kiddush and singing zemirot, Sabbath songs, at the table. We have ingrained the notion of the home as a mishkan me’at, a small sanctuary, and the table at which we eat as the mizbe’ach, the altar. In our individual lives, we may or may not make decisions about what we do or do not observe. Be what may: in our tradition, Shabbat is a presence we cannot deny.
Check out our March Bulletin!
Our March 2019 News Bulletin has now been released. Read more about what’s going on in our congregation and community. Our Bulletin is published every month. Contact the office if you would like to be on the mailing list.
“Rising Antisemitism” – Ethical Perspectives on the News
TV interview on Rising Antisemitism in “Ethical Perspectives on the News” by the Inter-Religious Council of Linn County. Featuring Rabbi Esther Hugenholtz and Lisa Heineman, Professor of the University of Iowa.
The Torah of Trauma
Brokenness is a universal human experience: everyone has encountered brokenness in their lives, their world or in themselves. Of course, while brokenness is the great leveler, our experience of brokenness is not a level playing field. Some of us are subjected to greater trauma than others; some of us may have more access or resources to heal from or repair the brokenness we face. Nonetheless, I’d wager to say that as I give this sermon, there will a number of you who are encouraged to reflect on what is broken in your lives. It seems as inevitable as death.
Seeking Out The Greys
Engaging with difference should not be mistaken with accepting a doctrine of moral equivalency or finding ‘common ground.’ We do not need to paper over our differences. We can be strong in our moral convictions. Yet there is a distinction between moral courage and moral absolutism. We must invite shades of grey.
Designing a Logo
Designing the Second Century Fund Logo. In this post we explore the design process of the logo: why and how it was created. This a first post of a more experimental series of posts which you will find in future in a section named “jLab”: posts about creative, fun, interesting or random Jewish or congregation-related topics.
Introducing jLab: A page to Experiment
We are introducing a page where we can experiment: jLab. It is a page with blog posts about creative, fun, interesting or random Jewish or congregation-related topics. It is basically a online place where you can post anything that does not fit in the regular structure of this website. The only two rules are: you […]
Through the Looking Glass and Into the Mirror
We are all called to make Torah our own. This means letting the stories speak to our own lives and bringing our lives to the Torah. Part of being a fully-fledged Jewish citizen – which is what the Bat and Bar Mitzvah process is about – is taking ownership of that legacy. It is yours, mine, ours: the province of all who journey to her.
