Author: Rabbi Lia Bass

We start the evening service of Yom Kippur with a strange proclamation. We say in the introduction to Kol Nidrei: By the authority of the court on high and by the authority of this court below, with divine consent and with consent of this congregation, we grant permission to pray…

The Torah reading for the second day of Rosh HaShanah, the akedah, the Binding of Isaac, is horrifying no matter how many times I read it or I teach it.  We know that this is supposed to be a test, and when God tells Abraham to offer his son Isaac as…

Today another year begins. We gather here to connect with our community and with God, hoping to start anew. During the month of Elul, the last month of the Jewish year, we start preparing for the Yamim Norayim by reading Psalm 27. Here is the opening verse: Psalm 27:1 of…

We continue our exploration of the Jewish wedding by examining the first part of the ceremony, the Eirussin. The Jewish ceremony was once two separate ceremonies, the Eirussin, or betrothal, followed by the Nissuin, the wedding itself. We now combine these two ceremonies in one.

We are now in the Hebrew month of Elul. Elul is a good month for Jewish weddings because its letters are an anagram for Ani LeDodi VeDodi Li, which means “I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine.”

Dear Friends, We are looking forward to ushering the Jewish New Year together with you! We will gather as a community, with services being both in-person and online.

We are four years old! Today, I believe it is safe to say that the dream became a reality. Four years ago we started a new concept: to help people explore Judaism through education, rituals, and life cycle events when/where/how they wanted to do it.

In this first exploration of what our tradition teaches is the path we take to being kind, we will unpack the first three suggestions of the Pirkei Avot, studying, attentive listening, and using proper speech. 

This past week, in honor of Israel’s Memorial Day, the Jewish Day School had a special remembrance for one of the students that died in this latest confrontation between Israel and Hamas.

We are all being bombarded with images of campus protests. Depending on our news sources, these are described as pro-Palestinian, or anti-Israel, or pro-Hamas, or anti-Zionist. I will share with you what is in my heart,