CBI Blogs

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the High Holy Days are not over! It’s true; many people think that once Yom Kippur is finished, our time of introspection and reflection is over. While it would be nice (at least from a clergy perspective) to be “done” once we hit the break fast, the holidays continue on as we gather to celebrate Sukkot and Simchat Torah. 

Funny enough, most people I speak to absolutely...Read more...

I recently started watching Time Bandits on Apple+, a reimagining of the zany 1981 film. In the opening episode we are introduced to Kevin, a intelligent and thoughtful 12-year-old boy, and his neglectful parents, who spend most of their time sitting on the couch using their smartphones while the tv plays in the background. This is an all too familiar scene in households across...Read more...

The Japanese have an artistic style called kintsugi in which a broken piece of pottery is repaired by mending the areas of breakage with a lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered precious metal…like gold. Why do this? One answer: to embrace the flawed or the imperfect. Healing human brokenness is not as easy as gold dusted glue. However, if I greet the broken hearted with...Read more...

On Fridays, we email two Elul Thoughts, out of respect for those of us who choose not to look at email on Shabbat. We wish you a blessed and restful Shabbat and hope you continue finding inspiration in our Elul Thoughts.

If you've ever been in a beit midrash (a traditional Jewish study hall), you know it's anything but quiet. Unlike a typical Western...Read more...

I spent two weeks in Israel this summer. This was my second visit since October 7. The first was to bear witness to the massacre. At that time I noticed a bond of solidarity among Israelis over fighting back against Hamas and rescuing hostages. Grassroots charities sprung up across the country to help take care of others and put aside past grievances. Over the past 8 months...Read more...

In a debate, there’s a winner and a loser. As a result, debate is a terrible way to resolve problems or bring people together. If our goal for family, our People, or our community is to “seek peace and pursue it” (Psalms 34:15), logical (or illogical) arguments won’t lead to reconciliation or healing. Instead, we have to suffer.

Sevel in...Read more...

On Fridays, we email two Elul Thoughts, out of respect for those of us who choose not to look at email on Shabbat. We wish you a blessed and restful Shabbat and hope you continue finding inspiration in our Elul Thoughts.

Is such the fast I desire,
A day for people to starve their bodies?...

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The entire biblical book of Genesis is a study in fraternal strife. One set of brothers after another is in conflict. Yet, even as the trauma seems to doom the next generation to more pain, there is also a moral arc that swings towards healing. 

The die is cast when Cain kills his brother. Separated by their parents, Isaac and...Read more...

So often in our lives, we mark time through significant moments– the beginning of a new school year, the countdown to January 1st, the number of days until summer vacation, and the like. These moments serve to connect us with the world around us. And yet, as Jews, we straddle both secular and sacred time. Jewish time tells...Read more...

This year I turn 50. Even typing those words makes a strange feeling wash over me. I think I have a little...Read more...

Healing rifts among people is considered a fundamental aspect of preparing spiritually for the new year, especially during the month of Elul. This period is a time for introspection, repentance, and seeking reconciliation with those whom we have wronged or hurt. According to the Talmud, in Baba Metzia 58b, there is a clear directive on how individuals should approach...Read more...

There is a person in my life who struggles with addiction and other mental health issues. It’s very difficult to be in communication and contact with this person. I made a choice years ago to no longer speak with them, allowing space and time to grow between us. I have often said, “Toxic is toxic, even if you’re related.”

Recently, this person chose to...Read more...

On Fridays, we email two Elul Thoughts, out of respect for those of us who choose not to look at email on Shabbat. We wish you a blessed and restful Shabbat and hope you continue finding inspiration in our Elul Thoughts.

Want to know a terrible and badly kept secret? Almost every family has rifts and estrangements. It is not often discussed, but we notice...Read more...

The High Holy Days are late this year.

I know, I know…they always start on the first of Tishrei, so they are always right on time. We measure our lives by time and by what is happening when. But time is a construct—a measurement of distance and how we move through space. You have probably heard that the term “light year” is a measurement of how far light travels in a year. I was always told it is bad form to use...Read more...

Tzedakah tatzel mimavet. Tzedakah delivers [a person] from death.

This phrase comes up quite a few times in our sacred texts. Twice in the book of Proverbs the phrase serves as a foil to a line about the futility of gathering wealth (10:2 and 11:4). The Talmud uses it as a seal to a list of ten things that are hard, with death being the tenth hard thing, but the assurance that tzedakah delivers from death (Baba Batra 10a). My favorite...Read more...