CBI Blogs

It was a particularly joyful scene in Sunday School this past week. It was the first time that we had been able to meet in person ("in three dimensions," as I like to say) since last fall, before the omicron variant of COVID-19 once again forced a retreat into virtual, online learning.

While our Education Director Carly Cera and her teaching staff brought every ounce of their...Read more...

I began my conversion during the year of 2020 while I was in Ohio. I was in unfamiliar territory, so I researched all the information I could find about converting to Judaism. The first thing I read about converting, was that it was expected for a rabbi to turn away potential converts three times “in part to reflect on whether they’re willing to deal with anti-Semitism.” (Weissman, 2015). As...Read more...

.When I was in second grade, I switched schools. I went from a private Montessori school to a private Jewish school. I was so excited to learn more about being Jewish and be surrounded by other Jews. But there was something off. Even though I was surrounded by people like me, I still felt like I was out of place. I was. Out of the entire school, I was the only person of color. I was too young to really understand what the problem was, but I...Read more...

This week's Torah portion, Mishpatim, provides the "fine print" to the 10 Commandments that we just read in last week's portion. In Saturday’s portion,  Mishpatim, the grand principles of the 10 Commandments are broken down for daily use in the form of all sorts of laws regarding justice, human relations and respectful treatment of your neighbor's property.

In Chapter 23,...Read more...

Time is a funny thing. There are days that seem to creep by so slowly, you’re absolutely sure the clock has stopped working. Then there are the days that go by so quickly you can barely catch your breath. And yet, no matter what, each day is measured in the exact same amount of seconds, minutes, and hours.

But here we are again, approaching the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr....Read more...

Here we are…just two sleeps away from waking up on January 1st, 2022. Around this time every year I think back to a first-grade memory when I have returned to school after winter break, and I cannot remember to write the new year at the top of my page. I am frustrated by this as I do not enjoy the need to continuously erase and rewrite the year.

This remembrance makes me wonder:...Read more...

Friends,

On Wednesday night, we held a Service of Healing, a vigil, if you will, in the CBI parking lot. We wanted to provide an opportunity for expressing and validating the intense emotions that we know so many of you have experienced in the wake of the hate crime that has seriously damaged our sanctuary. 

It was quite dark by the time we began to assemble. Some people brought lawn...Read more...

As the Chanukah candles continue to add more light into our world, and as the latke smell continues to seep through every room in our homes, I want to tell you the story of a real Chanukah hero. You might be thinking of the Maccabees. Or you might be thinking of the oil that lasted for 8 days. But, in fact, I want to tell you all about Judith.

Some of you may have heard about or...Read more...

During my first year of rabbinical school in Jerusalem, a group of friends and I bought rings engraved with Hebrew phrases. My best friend selected “Gam Zeh Ya’avor,” “This too shall pass.” I remember looking at her ring each day thinking, “What exactly does she want to pass?” It wasn’t until a few years later that I started to understand what this phrase meant.

For...Read more...

“…so Sarah laughed inwardly…” (Genesis 18:12).

In this week’s Torah portion, Parashat Vayeira, Abraham and Sarah learn that they will soon become parents. At the ages of 90 and 95. Honestly, if I was Sarah, I would have laughed, too! It’s hard to imagine doing anything strenuous at the age of 90, let alone have a baby.

And so, Sarah...Read more...

Some of the most beautiful and interesting Jewish commentaries on verses of Torah grow out of the fact that the meaning of certain Hebrew words has changed over time. For example, the Hebrew word Nefesh means "life, person, breath or individual" in the Torah, but by the time Rashi and the other greats are explaining the deeper meanings of the text in the middle ages, the word Nefesh has come to mean "soul." This opens the door to a lot of...Read more...

Zaman Simchateinu, Moadim L’Simcha, Chag Sameach, Happy Sukkot! We have so many ways of greeting one another during this holiday, and all express the joy we find during the “Feast of Booths.” Sukkot, one of the Shalosh Regalim (the pilgrimage festivals) celebrates the fall harvest and reminds us of our ancestors’ travels through the desert.

There is something sweet and...Read more...

Today is September 1st. In just 5 days we will officially bid farewell to 5781 and welcome in 5782.

We have been taking time, during the month of Elul, to prepare ourselves for the holy weeks ahead. The work of Cheshbon Hanefesh, the “accounting of our souls” is serious and important work. According to the article linked in the words above we human beings come equipped with the...Read more...

Our Torah portion for this week, Ki Teitzei, contains 74 commandments, more than any other parashah. These commandments in this parashah deal with a variety of subjects including family, treatment of animals, and business ethics, concluding with the commandment to remember Amalek’s killing of the old, weak, and infirm during the Israelites’ travels in the desert. The specific subjects of these commandments are diverse, but a common theme...Read more...

It may be hard to believe, especially with the intensity of the summer heat at an all time high, but fall is just around the corner. And with it, we can all look forward to slightly cooler days, a new school year, and of course, the High Holy Days. The end of summer also means that the new Hebrew month of Elul begins this Sunday. Elul, the month that immediately precedes the High Holy Days, offers each of us the opportunity for...Read more...