10 results for author: Cantor Kevin Margolius
Shofar Reflections – Different Sounds
The shofar calls us to begin the introspection our tradition asks of us during the Yamim Noraim — the Days of Awe. The cycle of different shofar blasts guides our journey, as we look at those parts of ourselves that may be broken. T’kiya G’dolah, the final, solid long blast, leads us back to wholeness.
https://youtu.be/WXJjxzwdutY
Shofar Reflections – Tree of Life
https://youtu.be/ySEsm1Kx318
Next to me here in Audubon Park is the Tree of Life.
Just imagine all of the moments this tree has witnessed throughout the years, the storms it has weathered, the weddings celebrated underneath its branches.
Next to this Tree of Life, the shofar calls us to celebrate life.
Shofar Reflections – 1 Elul
https://youtu.be/owf7h4v4sl4
Today is the new moon — the first day of the month of Elul — which marks the beginning of the High Holiday season. Over the course of this month, the moon will wax until it’s full, and when it disappears in the sky again, we enter the new year with Rosh HaShanah.
Take a look at the sky each night — the moon is a reminder of the sacred time we are entering. Each day over the course of this month the shofar calls us, reminding us to prepare to make the most of the coming new year.
Poet Marcia Falk wrote this reflection:
In the clearingWhere the mind flowersAnd the world sprouts up at every ...
Podcast Episode 9: Building Our Eiruv
Building Our Eiruv by Cantor Kevin MargoliusShabbat Evening Service - Friday, August 14
A New Hashkiveinu
The Hashkiveinu prayer is constantly on my mind these days, and it resonates for me greatly in these trying times. "Grant, O God, that we lie down in peace, and raise us up, our Guardian, to life renewed. Spread over us the shelter of Your peace."
In response to the current pandemic, Shoshana Yavneh Shattenkirk composed this breathtakingly beautiful setting of the Hashkiveinu prayer. She is the daughter of Touro board member Naomi Yavneh Klos.
Seventy Faces
Our tradition speaks of the “seventy faces of Torah” — the idea that the Torah doesn’t have one singular meaning, but rather it contains a bouquet of possibilities. A playful story from the Talmud illustrates this idea beautifully, telling of one of the many times when the schools of Shammai and Hillel come to opposite conclusions on a matter of Jewish practice. While they debate about who is right, a heavenly emerges, saying “Eilu v’eilu divrei Elohim chayim — Both of their perspectives are words of God.”
I had the privilege of sharing the virtual bima with the Hammer family this past Saturday to celebr...
News and the Jews: Food Insecurity
“Don’t go out! Wash your hands!” It sounds simple.
We have all experienced rapidly-evolving changes to our daily lives. Last week’s directives on the best way to keep ourselves and others safe amidst the novel coronavirus are all old news — just as guidelines from the week before were similarly soon updated. We hardly have a chance to experience the new normal before the next, newer normal arrives.
Most of the conversations and analyses in the news focus on what we ought (not) to be doing. Ilene Prusher’s recent article in the Forward provides a welcome moment to reflect on ...
A Meditation for Hand Washing
We are constantly being reminded to wash our hands these days. Jewish tradition teaches that hand washing can be a practical matter of hygiene, but it can also be a spiritual moment. Before making motzi over challah, it is traditional to wash our hands and recite a special blessing. This helps us transform something ordinary — eating food — into a moment of sanctity, a moment of recognition of our partnership with nature to grow plants and create nourishment from them.
We need not have a challah in front of us, though, to recognize the spiritual imperative to wash our hands. Deuteronomy teaches that it is a mitzvah to take care ...
Shabbat Rocks!
In case you missed it, here are highlights from the service for young families on March 21.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2f0hqQ--YDE&feature=youtu.be