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...
Doing It Well
05/03/2023 08:28:32 AM
My son, Milo, is obsessed with basketball. He’s only four years old, but believe me when I tell you that he has been living and breathing this sport since he first started walking and talking. He’s actually pretty good, but that came directly from him. A love of basketball (or sports in general) did not come from his parents, and no, we are not helicopter parents trying to force a skill in the hopes of a college scholarship. He...Read more...
Early Childhood Center Update
04/25/2023 09:41:09 PM
TBT to receive over $1 million from the State of Washington for Early Childhood Center
The Temple applied for a $1,080,000 grant through their Early Learning Facilities Grant Program. The grant was included as a local community project as part of the State’s capital budget, passed unanimously by both chambers of the State Legislature last...Read more...
Deliverance: A Message for the Season
04/04/2023 02:51:25 PM
I love Amazon Prime!
With a couple of clicks, I can order whatever I want (almost) and have it delivered the next day.
And sometimes even the same day!
It feels like a miracle!
But…we know that miracles don’t usually happen quite so easily.
You will be reading this message in the middle of Passover, the time our tradition calls “zeman
cheiruteinu - the time of our deliverance.” We were...Read more...
Update from TBT president
03/01/2023 10:46:50 AM
As we conclude February, I can report that it has been a busy time at Temple – both with community
events and board activity. We have had new programming this year, including the well attended
Shabbat Shirah Friday night song session and potluck dinner (with another coming up this Friday!). The
Better Together program for teens and empty nesters continues to be successful with
monthly gatherings. Also, I hope many of...Read more...
TBT FINANCE COMMITTEE
02/22/2023 02:47:53 PM
In our continued efforts to highlight Temple committee work, I am pleased to share the activities of the Finance Committee. This may not sound exciting to you, but the Finance Committee plays a pivotal role as the custodians of the Temple’s money. Nearly every aspect of Temple life involves money: More than 95% of our revenues comes from members, while close to 60% of expenses are personnel related.
Each Spring, the committee works...Read more...
Using my voice for good
02/02/2023 03:34:18 PM
This past weekend, I had the opportunity to go to Washington D.C. with four other teens from TBT to participate in the L’Taken seminar, a program led by the Religious Action Center, which teaches social justice through a reform Jewish lens. We met at a hotel with over 300 other teens from across the US. Over the weekend, we went to sessions on gun violence prevention, reproductive rights, Israel, migration, and more. We heard...Read more...
News From TBT Sisterhood
12/13/2022 04:34:05 PM
Sisterhood is our temple’s auxiliary whose mission is to build connections between those who identify as women at TBT to each other and, in turn, the Temple, our community and the world-at-large, as part of Women of Reform Judaism. We have a very exciting way to build those connections coming up in the spring and we invite you all to participate!
Register here for In-Person or Virtual:...Read more...
News From The TBT Green Team
11/15/2022 03:56:29 PM
Our TBT Green Team has been reinvigorated in the last two years and currently has 9 regular members – anyone is welcome to join. This year’s plans for the TBT Green Team include Working toward Earth Ministry/WAIPL Greening Congregation certification, Recommitting to our Composting and Recycling efforts, Hosting an...Read more...
Music at TBT
11/02/2022 02:27:45 PM
In my short time as TBT's Music Director, it has become abundantly clear that music is an integral part of the culture here. One of the first things a person sees as they enter the building is a larger-than-life painting of Rabbi Emeritus Jim Mirel holding his stand-up bass. And if you attended our Simchat Torah event last month, you heard Rabbi Mirel "slap the bass" and rock the social hall with his...Read more...
