Podcast Episode 3: We, the Circle Makers
https://soundcloud.com/anna-federline-347112250/we-the-circle-makers
Rabbi Katie Bauman - Friday, May 8, 2020
Podcast Episode 2: Acts of Love
https://soundcloud.com/anna-federline-347112250/acts-of-love-rabbi-todd-silverman
Rabbi Todd Silverman - Friday, May 1, 2020
…Different Than All Others?
At the start of last Sunday's 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th grade Religious School gathering, we marked the end of one week and the start of another by celebrating Havdalah together. That short, four-blessing-long ceremony formally closed out Shabbat and also -- by igniting our senses of taste, smell, sight, and hearing -- pushed us to consider the new opportunities and obligations of the coming week.But recognizing the distinction between one week (or day, or month) and the next has, lately, been a struggle for a lot of us. In times like these, many are quick to wonder, "Will ...
What Strange Fires Illuminate for Us
Our Jewish tradition is a rejection of the mindset that some human beings are expendable. The work we have to do to create more equity in our society is bigger than any one of us, as this pandemic has laid bare. But it has also demonstrated that such work cannot be done without any one of us. The whole House of Israel must weep for the extreme loss of life amongst our African American neighbors. And may our tears and pain and discomfort be the lens through which we view the choices we make every moment henceforth.
https://soundcloud.com/anna-federline-347112250/ra...
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.
Mayor Cantrell’s Day of Prayer: Rabbi Bauman offers a Prayer for the City Of New Orleans
https://www.facebook.com/mayorcantrell/videos/545983999434685/
WWNO: Faith in the Time of the Coronavirus
Reflections on this holiday season and how it makes our symbols and practices deeper and more resonant.
https://www.wwno.org/post/across-city-and-across-religions-new-orleans-keeps-faith-time-coronavirus
Nourish the Body, Nourish the Soul
At our Pesach seders this week, we heard, at the start of the Magid section, the recitation of Ha Lachma Anya — a declaration of welcoming to those who are in need of sustenance.
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הָא לַחְמָא עַנְיָא דִי אֲכָלוּ אַבְהָתָנָא בְּאַרְעָא דְמִצְרָיִם. כָּל דִכְפִין יֵיתֵי וְיֵיכֹל, כָּל דִצְרִיךְ יֵיתֵי וְיִפְסַח. הָשַׁתָּא הָכָא, לְשָׁנָה הַבָּאָה בְּאַרְעָא דְיִשְׂרָאֵל. הָשַׁתָּא עַב...
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 ...
We Know What To Do
https://wgno.com/news/broadmoor-improvement-association-go-above-and-beyond-for-senior-citizens/
This video is in recognition of the amazing work of The Broadmoor Improvement Association. Touro Synagogue volunteers have, over years, brought the beautiful greens from our vertical gardens to Broadmoor, and it has been a powerful component of our communal engagement. Second Harvest is a source of much of Broadmoor's food stores, and so our support of that is another gesture of our commitment. Some waters are rocky, and others are more still. But when there's brokenne...