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B'nai Shalom

Friday, February 1, 2013

Shul Spiel: B’nai Shalom

What's Happening in West Orange Synagogues?

This week's focus returns to B'nai Shalom, 300 Pleasant Valley Way.

  • THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
  • Friday, February 1

By the Merit of Women In this week’s Parshah (Yitro) we read of the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. And much of the plot is driven by men. Moses’ father-in-law Yitro meets with and advises Moses prior to his arrival at the mountain. Moses’ sons are introduced. Moses and Aaron partake of a sacrificial meal. Moses ascends and descends the mountain. And Moses adjures the men to “not come near a woman” for three days prior to the ophany. Yet at this very time of the year we are reminded that it is the women who made it all possible. According to the Babylonian Talmud, "Biz’chut Nashim Tzidkaniyot - By the merit of righteous women Israel was redeemed from Egypt" (Sotah 11b). In Egypt, it was the women who maintained the hope and optimism to…

Friday, November 23, 2012

Shul Spiel: B’nai Shalom

What's Happening in West Orange Synagogues?

This week's focus returns to B'nai Shalom.

  • THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
  • Friday, November 23, 2012

Supporting Israel  Here at B’nai Shalom, we have a strong record for support of Israel. As we watch the recent events unfolding in Israel and the Gaza Strip, we remain steadfast in our love and support of Israel. But we are disgusted by certain media coverage whose selective amnesia ignores the simple fact that these missiles have been being shot at Israel for months and months now. We are grateful that the United States in recent years authorized and installed the Iron Dome air defense system to protect against this very situation. And we wait for news of the conflicts’ escalation or resolution, but we’re not sure where it will go. But what can we do as a religious community to help? While the political and military leaders set the course…

Friday, October 19, 2012

Shul Spiel: B’nai Shalom

What's Happening at West Orange Synagogues

This week's focus returns to B'nai Shalom on Pleasant Valley Way.

  • THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
  • Friday, October 19, 2012

Israel Initiatives at B’nai Shalom: Israel has been, and remains the heartland of Jewish existence. And as a modern American ally with shared values, Israel is a natural partner for social, economic and political relationships. Israel and America have much to experience together. That is why B’nai Shalom is focusing on Israel initiatives this year. We were fortunate to welcome Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren to our congregation on Rosh Hashanah.  And our Israel Bonds appeal nearly doubled this year in response to his message. We are launching an Israel Fair on Saturday night Oct. 27 with a concert and Israeli arts and crafts for sale.  On Sunday, Oct. 28, we’ll experience an Israeli martial arts Krav Maga exhibition, and on Tuesday Oct. 30…

Friday, August 31, 2012

Shul Spiel: B’nai Shalom

What's Happening in West Orange Synagogues?

This week's focus returns to B'nai Shalom on Pleasant Valley Way.

  • THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
  • Friday, August 31, 2012

Only the synagogue can be the center of Judaism. For a long time it was wrongly taught that “synagogues replaced the ancient temple.” In fact, this is not true. From well before the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans in 70 C.E, our people had gathered in our towns and communities to hear the Torah read and to say public prayers.  One of my favorite artifacts is the Theodotus Stone, which can be found in Jerusalem’s Rockefeller Museum. This stone, carved in Greek and found in excavations in the City of David, declares Theodotus to have been a head of a synagogue whose purpose was to welcome the wayfarer in a gathering place of Torah. Even in Holy Jerusalem, with her hallowed Temple and Priesthood functioning fully, there was a …

Friday, August 3, 2012

Shul Spiel: B’nai Shalom

What's Happening in West Orange Synagogues

This week's focus returns to B'nai Shalom.

  • THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
  • Friday, August 3, 2012

Back to “Shul” Synagogues that prioritize learning at all ages are often called “shul” from the Yiddish for “school.” Here at B’nai Shalom, it’s “back to shul time” after a long and active summer. Now that we’ve completed our summer learning series on Creation, Revelation and Providence in the Jewish Tradition, we are moving full speed ahead with more programs. On Thursday, Aug. 2, we took a bus trip to “Colonial New York.” Beginning with a trip to the Holocaust Museum, in Battery Park, we focused on the earliest Jews to land on these shores. We then enjoyed the Emma Lazarus exhibit on the top floor, understanding her inspirational poem The New Colossus on new and profound levels: Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning…

Friday, July 6, 2012

Shul Spiel: B’nai Shalom

What's Happening at Local West Orange Synagogues?

This week's focus returns to B'nai Shalom to talk about summer programming and lectures.

  • THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
  • Friday, July 6, 2012

You CAN take it with you. All around the country, people are going on vacation and leaving their synagogues behind with empty seats and high air conditioning bills. Not here at The Conservative Synagogue! Here we are looking forward to a vibrant summer of services and learning.  I find the summertime to be a particularly uplifting season spiritually and Jewish-ly. The days are long, and invite quiet moments of contemplation along with frolicking times of family fun. In these warm days we often feel the blessings of God all around us. What an opportunity. One of my favorite activities in the summertime is to be “out there” in nature. I love hiking, camping, biking, boating – you name it. Anywhere with a view or a sunset, and I am happy. And…

Friday, June 8, 2012

Shul Spiel: B’nai Shalom

What's Happening at Local West Orange Synagogues

This week's focus returns to B'nai Shalom.

  • THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
  • Friday, June 8, 2012

Going deeper in our study and our beliefs Throughout the month of May, B'nai Shalom hosted three outstanding lectures which outlined different "approaches" to Jewish beliefs:  Rational Judaism, Zionist and Mystical Judaism. These evening venues gathered serious crowds to learn in a traditional lecture format. This July, we will take the topics Creation, Revelation, and Providence and study them in a less formal "Shabbat Kiddush Lunch-n-Learn" on Saturday afternoons following morning services. Creation is the first topic. Traditionally minded Jews don't ask, "Did God Create the Universe?" Rather the question was more "How does our scientific understanding match or conflict with what we have learned in Torah?" As such, questions like "Was …

Friday, April 27, 2012

Shul Spiel: B’nai Shalom

What's Happening in Local West Orange Synagogues

This week's focus returns to B'nai Shalom.

  • THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
  • Friday, April 27, 2012

B’nai Shalom Encourages “Approaches” to Judaism.  The Austrian-British Cambridge philosophy professor Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein is credited with the concept of “lenses” in matters of philosophy and religion. That is to say, we all view the world through lenses, which color our perception of everything.  How a Christian views the world may be profoundly different from how a Jew views the world.  And within our religions this is true as well. Whether it is Islam, Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant Christianities, Hinduism, Buddhism, or Judaism, we have many different “lenses” which create significant differences among us. Some may think of this as “Orthodox, Conservative and Reform,” but I believe that it is more a matter of “Rational…

Friday, March 23, 2012

Shul Spiel: B’nai Shalom

Shul Spiel: What's Happening at West Orange Synagogues

This week's focus returns to B'nai Shalom.

  • THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
  • Friday, March 23, 2012

  In just two weeks, Jews the world over will sit down at their tables and celebrate the Pesach Seder. This holiday is known as “the time of our freedom” because at this time our ancestors were liberated by G-d from the power of Pharaoh in ancient Egypt. Yet “freedom” is only a part of the story. The real theology of the holiday is Redemption. Redemption is more difficult to understand than freedom. What does it mean to be redeemed?  And why do we need redemption? You see, for a rabbinic Jew, what happened to our ancestors happens to us. What G-d promised to them is promised to us. What G-d has done for them, G-d will do for us. It is not about spiritual salvation, but physical redemption. Redemption is one of those religious words that …

Friday, February 17, 2012

Shul Spiel: B’nai Shalom

Shul Spiel: What's Happening in Local West Orange Synagogues

This week, the focus shines on B'nai Shalom.

  • THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
  • Friday, February 17, 2012

On Thursday, Feb. 16, I led a day trip from the B’nai Shalom parking lot to the Discovery Museum in Times Square to see the Dead Sea Scrolls: Life and Faith in Biblical Times exhibit.  The exhibit features many items never before displayed. Some of them date back nearly 3,000 years ago to the time of King Solomon; the youngest item in the exhibit dates from the Byzantine period, around 400 CE. Anyone who has ever visited the Shrine of the Book at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem can attest to the incredible sight of the ancient parchment scrolls on display. They raise as many questions as answers. Amidst our Torah, psalms and prophets lie fanciful and varied documents. Some documents quote our tradition while straying far afield. Who wrote …

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