Rabbi’s Corner: Hope and Gratitude
05/03/2024 11:02:59 AM
This Monday evening begins Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. The ugliness of the antisemitism that permeated those dark, Read more...
Rabbi’s Corner: Standing Up to the Crisis on Campus
04/26/2024 11:30:33 AM
Photo from Chapman University, Orange, CA (taken by Rabbi Cassi Kail, 4/24/24)
My niece Ashe begins university this falRead more...
Rabbi’s Corner: Open Doors, Open Hearts: A Special Passover Message and Seder Resources
04/19/2024 10:18:15 AM
Each year we begin our Passover seder with an ancient Aramaic entreaty, Ha Lachma Anya as we break one of the three rituRead more...
Rabbi’s Corner: Open Doors, Open Hearts: A Special Passover Message and Seder Resources
04/19/2024 10:18:09 AM
Each year we begin our Passover seder with an ancient Aramaic entreaty, Ha Lachma Anya as we break one of the three rituRead more...
Rabbi’s Corner: Open Doors, Open Hearts: A Special Passover Message and Seder Resources
04/19/2024 10:01:14 AM
Each year we begin our Passover seder with an ancient Aramaic entreaty, Ha Lachma Anya as we break one of the three rituRead more...
Rabbi’s Corner: Embracing the Sacredness of this Space - Brotherhood Shabbat
04/12/2024 10:13:15 AM
We live in a post-feminist world. For liberal Jews, there is no distinction between the roles of men and women since womRead more...
Rabbi’s Corner: Vayidom Aharon, And Aaron Was Silent/And Aaron Bled
04/05/2024 10:01:16 AM
Six months. 180 days. Thousands murdered. Hostages still missing, captive in Gaza where they are being held by Hamas afteRead more...
Rabbi’s Corner: Light, Joy, Spike Kraus, & Mitzvah Day
03/29/2024 10:01:10 AM
I am still smiling as I reflect on the fun-filled, joyous, uplifting “Purim Goes Pink” celebratory weekend this pastRead more...
Rabbi’s Corner: Leviticus, Sacrifice, Purim, and Fun - More in Common than Meets the Eye
03/22/2024 10:01:45 AM
What do Purim and the biblical book of Leviticus share in common, (besides the fact that they take place this Shabbat?) Read more...
Rabbi’s Corner: Joy as an Antidote to Fear
03/15/2024 10:00:24 AM
I do not cry often.
This week, I found myself suddenly overcome by all the emotions of everything I have experienced Read more...
Rabbi’s Corner: Why This International Women's Day is Especially Significant
03/08/2024 10:01:52 AM
Today we observe “International Women’s Day (IWD).” International Women's Day is celebrated annually on March 8th aRead more...
Rabbi’s Corner: No Tolerance for Intolerance, Hate, and Antisemitism
03/01/2024 10:07:27 AM
A few weeks ago, I led an interactive discussion with our Senior School students on the meaning of the word “tolerance.Read more...
Rabbi’s Corner: Stones of Remembrance, Stones of Meaning
02/23/2024 10:01:52 AM
My niece Katie and I performed an act of chesed, lovingkindness, for my late mother this week: we
visited her graveRead more...
Rabbi's Corner: "Gifts" That Bring Us Hope
12/22/2023 10:00:00 AM
Banner in lobby of Providence/St. Joseph's Hospital. Photo: Rabbi Sharon L. Sobel
Sometimes we receive gifts when we least expect. At times, it is those unexpected gifts that can lift us up and bring us hope when we most need it. Those unexpected gifts can have the most meaningful impact on our...Read more...
Rabbi's Corner: Nurturing New Growth of Hope
12/15/2023 10:00:00 AM
Coast redwoods showing new growth after a fire. San Francisco Chronicle, December 7, 2023
Last week on the first day of Chanukah there was a fascinating article in the San Francisco Chronicle about a grove of coast redwoods in Big Basin Redwoods State Park in Santa Cruz...Read more...
Rabbi's Corner: Shabbat Chanukah - Lighting Sparks in the Darkness (and an Update on the Santa Ana City Council Meeting)
12/08/2023 10:00:00 AM
This past Tuesday evening, Rabbi Gersh Zylberman (Senior...Read more...
Rabbi's Corner: Praising God During Difficult Time - "Baruch Dayan Ha-emet"
12/01/2023 10:00:00 AM
Mary Gonzalez’ cousin, Captain Arnon Moshe Avraham Benveniste Vaspi, on his first visit home from the army since October 7th.
The weekend before, he was killed in Gaza.
In Judaism, when we learn of someone’s death, it is traditional to recite:...Read more...
Rabbi's Corner: We Will Not Stand Idly By
11/24/2023 10:00:00 AM
I write this one day after the largest pro-Israel gathering took place at the mall in Washington DC (November 14th). Over 290,000 people convened, according to the organizers, for a rally to support Israel and condemn the global scourge of antisemitism. The rally...Read more...
Rabbi's Corner: Past & Present Coverage - Kristallnacht Commemoration, Veterans' Day, Israel's War with Hamas, & Antisemitism
11/10/2023 10:00:00 AM
On Thursday evening and today (November 9th and 10th) we commemorate the 85th anniversary of Kristallnacht – The Night of Broken Glass.This is the anniversary of that horrific event in 1938 when the Nazis in Germany sent their thugs on a murderous pogrom:...Read more...
Rabbi's Corner: Boots on the Ground in Israel - Meet Uri Feinberg
11/03/2023 10:00:00 AM
My connection with Uri Feinberg goes back to before he was even born: my father’s first position as a rabbi after he was ordained from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1966 was at Temple Har Sinai in Trenton, NJ. Uri’s father, Paul, grew up there and my father...Read more...
Rabbi's Corner: Shine Your Light - Blue Ribbons for Israel
10/27/2023 10:00:00 AM
Like many of us, I am deeply distressed, worried, and troubled about Israel and the effects of the horrific terrorist abuses perpetrated by Hamas. I am angry that Hamas has dragged Israel – and the Jewish people – into a war that will not have any victors, but rather will claim many...Read more...
Rabbi's Corner: Will the Rainbow, the Covenant of Peace, Appear Soon?
10/20/2023 10:00:00 AM
This is such a difficult, anguishing, heartbreaking and troubling time for so many reasons. The ongoing war as a result of Hamas’ brutal terrorist attack on Israel two weeks ago continues to weigh on our hearts, minds, and souls. At the same time, we observe how this war is being...Read more...
Rabbi's Corner: Stand Up for Israel - Be the Light in the Darkness
10/13/2023 10:00:00 AM
It’s hard to believe that it’s been only six days that we awoke to the horrific news of Hamas’ brutal assault on our beloved Israel. Like many of you, my emotions have been all over the map this week: shock, horror, despair, grief, outrage, anger, disbelief, numbness. I see the news and...Read more...
Rabbi's Corner: Sh'mini Atzeret, Yizkor and Simchat Torah: A Metaphor for Life
10/06/2023 10:00:00 AM
Tomorrow morning we gather as a combined community with Shir Ha’ma’a’lot and Congregation B’nai Tzedek to observe Sh’mini Atzeret and Yizkor, the end of Sukkot and our service of remembrance for those whom we loved who are no longer alive. We have just completed our celebration of Sukkot, Z’man...Read more...
Rabbi's Corner: Sukkot - A Reminder of the Dual Nature of Our Lives (Please Help Us Achieve Our 500 Bag Goal HHD Food Drive)
09/29/2023 10:00:00 AM
Full moon, full hearts, full harvest, full bellies…for some of...Read more...
Ted Lasso, Strengthening Bonds, & Our Preneg Pilot Program (5:15pm today!)
09/22/2023 10:00:00 AM
I needed a little distraction to help me unwind immediately following Rosh Hashanah before diving into preparing for Yom Kippur. Many people recommended that I watch Ted Lasso, they said it was fantastic. I am hooked! Ted Lasso is a heartwarming comedy series. Despite the fact that Ted has...Read more...
Rabbi's Corner: 500 Bags (or more) of "Wildly Unimaginable Blessings" - A New Year Challenge and Blessing
09/15/2023 10:00:00 AM
Curious about how the items in this photo are connected? Pasta sauce and candle sticks. Beans and decorations for my Rosh Hashanah table. Apples and a new box of pasta. They are all part of our High Holy Day “Wildly Unimaginable Blessings” – blessings for ourselves and...Read more...
Rabbi's Corner: Breating Our Way Into the New Year
09/08/2023 10:00:00 AM
In music, the breaths, rest notes, pauses, and the spaces between the notes are just as important as the musical notes themselves. If there were no breaths, rests, pauses, or spaces, we would just have a jumble of non-stop music. We wouldn’t understand the message that the composer was trying to convey. We need...Read more...
Rabbi’s Corner: “Oneg” Means “Joy”
09/01/2023 10:00:00 AM
Did you ever wonder why the desserts and treats we enjoy after our Erev Shabbat service are known as an “Oneg Shabbat?” The phrase “oneg Shabbat” literally means “the joy of Shabbat.” We learn from a tapestry of Jewish sources that Shabbat is to be celebrated...Read more...