TOS Blog

When I watched the Emmy’s a few weeks ago, I was struck by all of the thank-you’s. Every actor, writer, director, costume designer – their first reaction was to say thank you to everyone who supported them along the way. It was clear that none of them could have achieved their success without a...Read more...

Yom Kippur.

Often the last thing on our mind, as we prepare our homes and ourselves for this holy day, is preparing our children. And the thing is—Yom Kippur services are different from traditional Shabbat services at TOS. Having a quick conversation (or two) with our...Read more...

We are approaching the end of the three weeks, a period of time that culminates tomorrow night with the arrival of Tisha B’Av, a day of mourning. I’m incredibly grateful that Judaism sets aside sacred time for us to be sad, to feel down, and to get in touch with despair. These are emotions that we often push away because we feel obligated to be happy, distract ourselves with the busyness of life, or just...Read more...

Annual Meeting 2019

It has been my honor to...Read more...

Dear TOS Community,

I am filled with gratitude for the many blessings of last Friday evening’s Installation, when we marked the official start...Read more...

Did you know that there are refugee families in Brookline that need our help? There is one that even goes to school here at TOS. I really want to help his family as they don’t have much. With the help of Rabbi Schaefer and Amy, we are having a spare change drive here at ARS starting next week.

This is so easy. Did you know...Read more...

Here’s How the Jewish Community Can Help

Cherishing our friends and family in the LGBTQ community—and standing up for their safety and civil rights—is an expression of our caring and inclusive values at Ohabei Shalom. We want to ensure that all people in our community are treated...Read more...

ONE SOUL AT A TIME:

MENTAL HEALTH AND TIKKUN OLAM

YOM KIPPUR MORNING SERMON

A couple of years ago, I started noticing a tremendous upsurge in ads...Read more...

FIRST DAY OF ROSH HASHANAH
INTRODUCTION TO THE HAFTARAH READING
(I Samuel 1:1-2:10)

Last weekend was the US Open’s Women’s Tennis Final, and it pitted perhaps the greatest tennis player of all time, Serena Williams,...Read more...

Dear Friends,

As part of our strategic planning process, this past June the Board of Trustees unanimously voted to adopt Tikkun Olam, Caring and Inclusive Community and Jewish and General Education as Temple Ohabei Shalom’s core values. These values were identified through our strategic planning...Read more...

It is said in a midrash that the gates of teshuvah (repentance/return) are always open....Read more...

The new moon this weekend begins the new month of Elul. By the time the moon has waxed and waned we’ll be arriving at Rosh Hashanah, the start of a new year. Elul is a time for preparing for the High Holy Days, of awakening ourselves to do the work of teshuvah.

A Midrash on the Song of...Read more...

The early Rabbis who codified the Oral Torah in the Mishnah and Talmud, made a distinction between religious obligations that were considered d’oraita (from the Torah) and d’rabbanan (from the rabbis). In this week’s Torah portion, Eikev, we read the source for...Read more...

Today, for the first time, our 175-year-old congregation marched as a community in Boston’s Pride Parade.

Shehechiyanu! It was such a wonderful celebration of life and love. From our truck, complete with a replica of our synagogue’s dome on top, we cheered, waved, and returned shouts of...Read more...

The origin of my name Ellen is derived from the Greek root ēlē meaning light or bright.  Perhaps that explains why I’ve always had an affinity for light.  Or more precisely, fire.  If you build a fire, I will be lost to it, mesmerized by the flames for hours.  So, it makes sense that of...Read more...