We had the opportunity to visit the Jewish area of Rome. An Italian Jew, Sarah, was our tour guide for two synagogues: the Great Synagogue of Rome and a smaller synagogue sometimes used by the Italian Jewish community and sometimes used by the Libyan Jewish community. It is often shared by both.
Posts by Rabbi Nicole Guzik
Raising Menches
Our middle son just graduated elementary school. Whether we are watching high schoolers go to college, sitting at weddings, experiencing the birth of grandchildren or nieces and nephews, or witnessing our own milestones, many of us are going through ceremonies and, additionally, reflection.
A Moment in History
We will always remember this week. In the future, our grandchildren will ask us what we did and where we were when we received the news about Israel’s courageous preemptive strike on the Iranian regime’s nuclear program, saving the West. We texted with congregants and family members in bomb shelters throughout Israel, people singing, praying, crying, and hoping their children would sleep a few hours through the hellish nights. So many of us wondered what this moment in history would bring.
Canopies of Peace
Birkat Kohanim, the Blessing of Peace, is one of the most sacred, well-known pieces of Jewish liturgy. Found at the end of Parashat Naso, the prayer is often recited on Friday nights, a blessing extended from parent to child. Additionally, the clergy offer the prayer at brit milah/baby namings, b’nai mitzvah ceremonies, and under the chuppah during a wedding. The blessing asks God to offer protection, kindness, and ultimately, peace, as the person navigates their various life milestones.
Be Counted; God is Counting on You
At the beginning of Bamidbar, we see a counting of each male, head by head. The commentators debate the merit of counting each person when in Jewish tradition, there is strong merit in the collective. If B’nai Yisrael is trying to become a nation, what is the purpose in identifying each individual?
Finding God Through Abner Goldstine
The Jewish world lost a giant this week: A luminary and a visionary. We mourn the passing of Abner Goldstine, past president of Sinai Temple.
Fragile Time
Rabbi Simon Jacobson created a “Spiritual Guide to the Counting of the Omer.” He offers 49 steps “to personal refinement” as a means of readying ourselves for the receiving of the Torah during Shavuot. Rabbi Jacobson writes, “Each day in time has a life of its own. A day is a unique energy flow waiting to be tapped and channeled into the fiber of man’s being.”
Contagious
The Torah dislikes sloppiness, specifically, the lack of regard for others and oneself when it comes to how we choose to use our words. Tazria-Metzora lays out a framework of isolation and return when a person, clothing, or home develops some kind of disease. And the rabbis attribute this disease to spiritual malaise, primarily caused by using words that contribute to the spreading of gossip and lies.
Freedom in the Familiar?
If one reason why we refrain from chametz is to experience a hint of suffering, when do we begin to feel a sense of freedom?
So Much Matzah
While we know there are four questions during the Passover Seder, there seems to be a fifth over the course of the week: how many ways can matzah be eaten?
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