Building Our World from Love: Shabbat Insights from Rabbi Audrey Marcus Berkman
07/16/2020 04:01:16 PM
Dear Friends,
During this time in the Jewish calendar, we are in a period of acknowledging the profound historical losses of our people, including most centrally the ancient temples in Jerusalem. This year, the sadness we recall at this season-- of losing our access to the place where we come together in community to find connection to one another and to tradition and the transcendent – is so deeply resonant. Having gone four months...Read more...
Shabbat Message
07/10/2020 02:20:26 PM
On Forgiveness
07/03/2020 08:53:10 AM
Shabbat Message
06/26/2020 09:29:14 AM
This Monday evening, June 29th, TOS members, clergy and staff will come together over Zoom for our Annual Meeting. We will have the opportunity to thank those who served on the Board of Trustees this year, and to welcome new Board members who will serve in the coming year. Most importantly, we will be...Read more...
The Sacred Calling: Pursuing Justice for All
06/19/2020 08:02:31 AM
Today is the anniversary of the proclamation of freedom for black slaves in Texas in 1865, celebrated as “Juneteenth.” At tonight’s service, we will have the opportunity for reflection related to this day....Read more...
THE PURPOSE OF PAIN: To Elicit a Response
06/08/2020 02:59:18 PM
Pain hurts, but pain serves a purpose. Were it not for the sensation of pain, we would not pull our hand off a hot stove and thereby avoid the consequences of a severe burn. Were it not for the sensation of pain, we would not know that something is wrong with our bodies and that there may be a need to seek medical help. Were it not for pain, we would not hear the cry of a child and the need to give our attention.
The purpose of pain...Read more...
THESE WILL I REMEMBER: Black Lives, Gay Pride, & the Ten Martyrs
06/05/2020 07:47:32 AM
On Yom Kippur afternoon, we list the names of our Jewish martyrs who died for the sanctification of God’s name, al kiddush hashem. Often known as the Martyrology, the service is named after the medieval poem...Read more...
FROM RABBI BERKMAN AND OUR SOCIAL ACTION COMMITTEE IN RESPONSE TO RECENT EVENTS
05/31/2020 02:18:25 PM
May 31, 2020/8 Sivan 5780
Shavua tov.
As the new week begins, Jews around the world are coming out of the holy time of Shabbat and Shavuot (observed for two days in much of the Jewish world). We return to a world deeply in need of healing, both from the pandemic which has caused 365,000 deaths as well as tremendous suffering from the economic impact, and from the scourge of racial injustice....Read more...
Rabbi Berkman's Musical Shabbat Message
05/29/2020 12:00:00 AM
In this week’s Torah portion, Naso, we find the most ancient words of blessing known to us. The Priestly Blessing echoes through millenia (from at least the 7th century BCE). It is incredible to imagine that these words have been said, chanted, or sung for so many generations, in so many Jewish (and Christian) contexts. Parents bestow this blessing upon their children at the start of Shabbat and holy days;...Read more...
Attention is a Form of Prayer - Rabbi Berkman’s Shabbat Message for Parashat Bamidbar
05/22/2020 07:33:53 AM
This Shabbat, we begin the book of Numbers, Bamidbar. Bamidbar means “in the wilderness.” Here we resume the narrative of the long sojourn through the midbar- a...Read more...
