I In 1991, the groundbreaking play “Angels in America” by the phenomenally gifted Tony Kushner premiered at our own Eureka Theater in San Francisco. Part One, called “Millenium Approaches” opened perhaps ironically and perhaps not, with a funeral. The grandmother of one of the main characters was eulogized as one among many who risked […]
I met one of my very best friends in the lobby of the Newark airport hotel 21 years ago. We had both just graduated from college and it was day one of our adventure with Project Otzma, a program that sent new college graduates to Israel for a year of learning, teaching and adventure. They […]
I There is a story told long ago of a bird — the most beautiful bird in the world — which flew into a kingdom. The king immediately took notice of the bird, for its feathers were radiant and it flew swiftly and with great majesty. The king realized that although he owned many […]
Dear Friends, The following message is comprised of reflections on our High Holiday services over the past two years. Guess what? With all that has changed and will change in our community, they still hold true. I hope reading them again sets the stage for a Shana Tovah for all of you. It is told […]
Chaverim, Last year, I began to cultivate a friendship with Reverend Jim Burgquist of Orinda Community Church, after he invited me, Rabbi Gutterman and the Shir Joy band to provide the music for his worship service one Sunday morning. That experience was so joyful, and so hopeful, that it dared us to dream of creating […]
Dear Friends, In Pirkei Avot, a section of the Mishnah which contains various Rabbinic sayings and teachings, one of them reads as follows: “”I have learned much from my teachers, more from my colleagues, and the most from my students.” This wisdom is truly being put into practice at B’nai Tikvah this month. On Friday […]
Dear Friends, This coming Shabbat morning, we will have the honor of hearing the weekly Haftarah portion chanted by a young woman becoming Bat Mitzvah. Thankfully, this is not a rare occasion in the life of our synagogue. However, the contrast between the words she will chant and the conditions of the world in which […]
Dear Friends, In Rainer Maria Rilke’s Book Of Hours, the poet refers to God as “the great homesickness we could never shake off.” There is something effortlessly resonant in that mysterious image for us, given the number of names and ways of referring to God that are part of Jewish tradition. Our God is at […]
My dear friends and community, Fourteen years ago, as I was considering taking my first pulpit at a synagogue in Walnut Creek called Congregation B’nai Tikvah, I had a life-changing conversation with Stephen Richards, our cantor emeritus. I was hoping for some assurance in talking to him about what my experience would be like if […]
Dear Friends, In this week’s Torah portion, Beha’alotecha, the Israelites experience a unique retrospective journey into their past, defined as it was by nostalgia and mythic imagination. Frustrated by their journey through the wilderness that seemed to be leading them nowhere, they fondly remembered the delicious food that used to be theirs for the taking: […]
