On Tisha B'Av We Remember & Mourn
08/09/2019 11:31:57 PM
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 2019A Message from Rabbi Berkman
11/16/2018 11:29:03 AM
Dear Friends,
Across the country, many thousands of our Jewish sisters and brothers are experiencing the horror of having lost loved ones, homes, businesses, and several Jewish institutions including camps and a Jewish day school. (See this article for more information on the impact on the Jewish...Read more...
A letter of gratitude from Rabbi Audrey Marcus Berkman
11/06/2018 07:26:03 PM
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...
Installation Remarks
11/02/2018 04:00:00 PM
My already-beloved community, cherished family, friends, colleagues: How very humbling to be called to the leadership of this kehilla kedoshah, this holy community, at this moment in history. It is not an easy moment - it is arguably the most challenging and shocking time for American Jews in many decades,...Read more...
Refugee tzedakah project
10/24/2018 12:47:32 PM
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...
Rabbi Schaefer's Sermon on National Refugee Shabbat
10/19/2018 12:00:00 AM
This week’s Torah portion, Lech L'cha, begins with the famous words:
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יְהוָה֙ אֶל־אַבְרָ֔ם לֶךְ־לְךָ֛ מֵאַרְצְךָ֥ וּמִמּֽוֹלַדְתְּךָ֖ וּמִבֵּ֣ית אָבִ֑יךָ
God said to Abram, “Go forth from your land, from your birthplace, and from your father’s house.”
Why does God specify three...Read more...
Transgender Civil Rights Are Vulnerable in November
09/27/2018 07:30:00 AM
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...
ARS 2018-2019 Vision: B'tzelem Elohim
09/26/2018 05:48:00 PM
At ARS, we approach curriculum through a variety of ways. There’s the Hebrew and Judaica curriculum that students examine in the classroom, the tefilah questions that help students dive into prayer and theology at our weekly service, and each...Read more...
YOM KIPPUR 5779/2018
09/24/2018 07:30:00 AM
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...
KOL NIDRE 5779/2018
09/24/2018 05:30:00 AM
BUILDING ON BROKENNESS:
THE HOLINESS OF WHOLENESS
Sometimes you’re the windshield and sometimes you’re the bug. If you use social media -- sometimes you’re the ones posting carefully curated photos of our delicious meal, our adorable kids or grandkids, our phenomenal vacation - we are “hashtag...Read more...
ROSH HASHANAH 5779/2018
09/23/2018 07:56:03 PM
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...
ROSH HASHANAH 5779/2018
09/23/2018 07:00:00 PM
SHEMA!:
HEARING AND SHARING OUR STORIES TO
BUILD A STRONGER COMMUNITY AND A
BETTER WORLD
Read more...
A Message from Our President
09/05/2018 09:42:42 PM
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...
A Word of Torah
09/02/2018 06:30:00 AM
Last night at Selichot, we sang the words of Hashiveinu, reminding us that this is the season for...Read more...
A Word of Torah: Elul Thoughts - The Gift & Power of Emotional Courage
08/24/2018 07:49:02 AM
It is said in a midrash that the gates of teshuvah (repentance/return) are always open....Read more...
A Word of Torah: Elul Thoughts-The Courageous Act of Waking Up!
08/17/2018 10:23:44 AM
The sound of the shofar is, it has been said, a kind of spiritual alarm clock. With the dawn of the Hebrew month of Elul, this primal sound, seeming to encompass the entire spectrum of human emotion and experience within it, calls us to mindfulness, to wakefulness, and asks us plaintively and...Read more...
A Word of Torah: The New Moon
08/10/2018 11:28:29 AM
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...
A New Partnership & Two Events
08/03/2018 02:07:20 PM
Dear friends,
This is Lori Berry and Donna Rubenoff. We want to introduce ourselves as the co-leaders of the new temple-wide partnership that we launched in June with The...Read more...
A word of Torah: Gratitude for our food
07/29/2018 06:31:24 AM
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...
Shabbat ~ Taking a moment to breathe together
07/02/2018 10:05:01 AM
Shabbat, as our sa
ges understood, is a taste of the world as it should be – a pause from the busyness and noise of the day-to-day and a time to be...Read more...
TOS Shows its Pride
06/05/2018 08:00:00 PM
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...
Rabbi Berkman's Invocation-Annual Meeting 2018
06/05/2018 07:00:00 PM
Invocation and Reflections:
Read more...
Parashat Bo—the Ninth Plague: Darkness by Ellen Mosner
03/26/2018 05:49:03 PM
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...
Co-presidents Corner – Strategic Planning & Clergy Search
03/13/2018 05:29:55 PM
Dear TOS Community,
We are pleased to update you on our strategic planning and clergy search process.
Strategic Planning
On March 11th, we held our second community meeting. At this meeting, we examined our personal and congregational Jewish values. We then envisioned our community in the year 2023. Each table created a long list of...Read more...
A Purim Painting comes home
03/01/2018 05:29:29 PM
On Tuesday we received a visit from two local women and a painting…and the painting stayed. Martha Pierce and Norrie Epstein were little girls at TOS. Their grandfather, Louis Epstein, was President of TOS and their grandmother, Martha Epstein, was the first woman Vice President of...Read more...
Co-Presidents Corner ~ More about Strategic Planning
02/15/2018 05:17:21 PM
Hi Friends,
As we head into what is typically a quiet week for many in our community, we wanted to take this opportunity to share more about our Strategic Planning work – how it came about, why it’s important, and how it relates to previous planning initiatives.
As a community, there is so much we want to do. Strategic planning is an important tool...Read more...
Co-Presidents Corner ~ We’re looking forward
02/01/2018 12:00:00 AM
Hi everyone,
Our strategic planning community meeting was a huge success, showing us the energy around this initiative and highlighting places where we need continued work. Please read below for updates on our clergy transition and strategic planning process.
Clergy Transition
The board continues to discuss our clergy needs and will soon determine...Read more...
Co-Presidents Corner ~ Speak Up!
01/08/2018 12:00:00 AM
Dear Friends,
We are thrilled that 165 of you shared your thoughts in our strategic planning survey! Please join us for the next step in the process. A community-wide meeting will be held on Sunday, January 28th at 2 pm. There will be childcare! There will be food! There will be lively conversation! We would love to see you there.
Three community...Read more...
Sat, September 21 2019
21 Elul 5779
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Upcoming Events
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Mindfulness & Meditation
Shabbat, Sep 21st 9:00a to 10:15a
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S’lichot: Beginning to Return: A S'lichot program of reflection and music
Shabbat, Sep 21st 7:00p to 9:45p
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Annual Social Action Kickoff Meeting
Wednesday, Sep 25th 7:00p to 8:30p
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Soul Cycle: Spiritual Insights into the Jewish Holiday Cycle
Thursday, Sep 26th 6:30p to 8:00p
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5th Annual High Holy Days Retreat: Breathe, Return, and Renew
Shabbat, Oct 5th 11:00a to 3:00p
About Ohabei Shalom
Progressive in attitude yet traditional in practice, Temple Ohabei Shalom is an inclusive Jewish community committed to nurturing, sustaining, and touching Jewish lives through lifelong learning, joyful worship, and repair of the world in word and deed.
