Shared Vision: An Update
12/14/2023 03:45:16 PM
Shared Vision is about understanding who we are, what are our strengths, and how we can aspire to be even better. It happens only when each of us contributes our own vision, our unique perspective.
Our process to acquire this information takes three approaches: individual conversations, small group conversations, and congregational-wide input. We have met with congregants and learned about their Jewish journeys. We are in...Read more...
Finding the Light This Chanukah
12/05/2023 02:18:36 PM
Normally, Chanukah is a fun time of the year. Between the food and the parties and the gifts and the lights, these eight days truly light up our lives.
But this year is anything but normal.
In fact, in my almost 70 years, I am not sure I’ve ever experienced a Chanukah like this.
Israel – the place where the story of Chanukah occurs – is at war. As of writing this note, there are still 140 hostages being held...Read more...Refugee & Immigrant Justice: An Interview with Dick & Carrie Stein
11/27/2023 04:04:44 PM
No one in the Temple B’nai Torah community has been as immersed in immigrant and refugee justice issues as Dick and Carrie Stein. As TBT’s liaisons to the Jewish Coalition for Immigrant Justice (JCIJ), they have been part of the team working tirelessly to support and advocate for immigrants and refugees in Washington, and for the Riverton asylum seekers in particular. We asked the Steins to explain in more detail what this work means to...Read more...
An Update From Our Worship Committee
11/21/2023 10:01:56 AM
Shalom, TBT family!
I'm Keith Ketover, your fellow congregant, and the chair of the Worship Committee here at TBT. As part of the Board of Directors, I have the privilege of leading a fantastic group dedicated to making our sacred services meaningful and uplifting.
Our committee has its hands full with various responsibilities, from maintaining ritual policies to caring for our sacred objects. Yet,...Read more...
May Their Memories Be Blessings
11/08/2023 02:20:31 PM
We write again about the tragedy unfolding in Israel and Gaza. While the instinct might be to skip this message–because it has been so hard to listen to and watch the pain so many are experiencing–please read on.
It has been a month since October 7. We have reached the end of “sheloshim,” the 30 days of mourning traditionally spent remembering loved ones who die. Our tradition teaches that these 30 days are to be used to sit...Read more...
Making Sense of it All
10/19/2023 10:19:38 AM
Just before writing these words, I read a news report that said that the hospital that was destroyed in Gaza, killing 500 people, was most likely the result of a misfired rocket released by Hamas.
The ferocity with which Israel was condemned, when it was first thought to have been the perpetrator of this horrid tragedy, was breathtaking in its scope and intensity. Now that it has been (preliminarily) determined to have originated from...Read more...
Finding Our Way Together
10/10/2023 06:18:01 PM
As I write these words, the death toll of those murdered by terrorists in Israel has reached over 1,000. In addition, thousands more have been physically or emotionally traumatized. Added to this, we recognize that there are thousands, if not tens of thousands, of Palestinians, who are equally suffering due to no actions on their part and are equal victims of the heinous acts committed in their name.
While I continue to believe...Read more...
Comfort Packages for Post-Abortion Care
10/03/2023 04:05:13 PM
TBT Sisterhood has kicked off our year-long project supporting Reproductive Justice and participation is open to all TBT members. We will work in partnership with Cedar River Abortion Clinic. We are supporting patients receiving an abortion from this outstanding healthcare facility with a gift bag filled with essential and comforting items along with words of support.
The bags will...Read more...
What's YOUR Torah?
10/03/2023 03:04:21 PM
It has truly been such an honor to spend the High Holidays with you. In case you missed a service (or want to re-watch!), we hope you will take time to listen/watch on our YouTube channel. To accompany your watching, here is the 1-sentence CliffsNotes (are those still a thing?) version for each of our sermons:
Erev Rosh Hashanah: We need to be our authentic selves and love who we are; it is time to figure out what are the sum total of...Read more...An Update From Our Membership Committee
09/19/2023 12:46:31 PM
In partnership with the board, staff, and congregation, the Membership Committee at TBT aims to bring value to the temple membership by building community, supporting current members, and bringing new members into the TBT family.
Our committee has a long tradition of hosting events including the recent, highly acclaimed, "Get S'More Shabbat" event featuring Noah Aronson, a BBQ, and, of course, S'mores. In fact, when I was...Read more...
Finding The Midrash in Movies
09/06/2023 11:17:46 AM
Whenever something explicitly Jewish hits the media world, I often get a flurry of questions about it. This past week, there has been a lot of conversation about Adam Sandler’s new movie, “You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah!” on Netflix. (Yes, I saw it. Yes, I thought it was cute. Yes, Rabbi Rebecca is hilarious and I aspire to take b’mitzvah meetings from a treadmill desk like her. And yes, it’s problematic that they refer to...Read more...
Looking Ahead: High Holidays and Beyond
08/01/2023 12:40:12 PM
August. It’s the time that families think about that last summer vacation before school starts. It’s when companies rethink their 2nd-half-of-the-year sales strategies. It’s when folks begin to realize the days are starting to get shorter.
And for rabbis, it’s the realization that the High Holidays are only 6 weeks away!
In truth, your rabbis (Rabbi Molly and me) have been thinking about and planning for High Holidays...Read more...
Social Action Committee Relaunch
07/18/2023 02:31:02 PM
One of my favorite things when I interact with people at temple is the amazing diversity of ways that we
understand what it is to be Jewish. Something else I love is that even though we may vary across so
many customs, priorities, and observances, one thing that we all seem to agree on is the importance of
tikkun olam, the healing of the world. It is hard to imagine being Jewish in a way that separates us from
our sense of...Read more...
The Sacred Work of Inclusion
07/05/2023 11:57:53 AM
There’s a song my kids are obsessed with right now. They ask me to play the song and they belt out the words at the top of their lungs: “How lucky are we? Of all the fish in the sea, you get to be you, and I get to be me.”
You might think those are lyrics from the 1972 album, “Free To Be You and Me,” but it’s actually a song the artist Corook wrote recently with their girlfriend, Olivia Burton, called “if...Read more...
Reflecting on Our Values While Focusing on Inclusion
06/07/2023 12:27:04 PM
There is a conversation happening right now among my clergy colleagues about what to call the Jewish ceremony marking a child’s transition from adolescence to emerging adulthood. For much of history we called it “bar mitzvah,” meaning “son of the commandments.” A little over 100 years ago, we added “bat mitzvah,” when Judith Kaplan became the first daughter of the commandments. And now, with a growing desire to...Read more...
