This past Wednesday, a personal dream came true. I met Andrea Zuckerman from the show, 90210. For several years, I would sit with my father and sister and then later my UCLA roommates and watch Brenda, Brandon, Dylan, Kelly, Donna, David, Steve and Andrea learn about high school, the ups and downs of adolescence, and how to transform friendships into family. Ask anyone close to me…I loved 90210 and even sneak in a rerun here and there. Gabrielle Carteris, the woman that played Andrea, spoke at the American Jewish University Women’s luncheon. AJU honored Sinai Temple’s very own, Heidi Monkarsh. …
Posts by Rabbi Nicole Guzik
24 Hours of Prayers
I recently taught a class in which a group of women discussed what distracts us when we pray. At first, the answers were benign: our children, someone else’s child, the sounds of the cars outside, our own personal worries, etc. But the conversation shifted and someone said, “Other women distract me when I pray.” Pushed further, the answer resonated with almost every woman around the table. When another woman walks into the synagogue, pretty harsh questions run through our mind: “Why did she choose to wear that dress with those shoes?” “Doesn’t her skirt look a little short?” Or perhaps…
Settling In
Doesn’t it always feel busy? My husband and I have a favorite conversation: remarking on the busy nature of the past few months and predicting that the following weeks are sure to be less chaotic. I bite my tongue as I watch personal and professional obligations rush through the door and my calendar fill up. One, two, three kids get sick and life in its most predictable way, takes over. Last night we looked at each other and one of us said, “I thought things were supposed to settle down.” And the other responded, “I don’t think life ever settles…
The Time In Between
I am writing this bisl at 4:00am. Jet lag due to arriving home just last night from Krakow. A long day of over twenty hours of travel. And yet, writing in the early morning feels as if I stand between two worlds: a world of borrowed time, appreciation and gratitude and a world of practicality, efficiency and routine. The first world has fewer travelers and it’s often in these liminal moments where we wish the jet lag hit us more often. I can hear the wind rushing outside. The deep breathing of my sleeping family soothes me. I’m reminded of…
Never Again
When we utter the words, “Never Again,” what is our intention? To pay homage to the six million Jewish souls that perished in the Holocaust…yes. To commit ourselves to understanding the waxing and waning and ever present current of anti-Semitism…yes. To teach our babies about the horrors of World War II and the life and rich Jewish culture that pervaded Europe pre-1939…yes. To hold memory and teach memory…yes. Sinai Temple Sisterhood has brought our first adult delegation of over forty people to Krakow, Lublin and Warsaw. We pledge, “Never Again.” Franta Bass was a child that perished in Auschwitz. Franta…
It All Tastes Like Passover
It all tastes like Passover. You know exactly what I mean. The potato chips taste like the pretend cereal which tastes like the pretend yogurt which tastes like the pretend chocolate chip cookies. It all tastes the same. Bland, flavorless, trying so hard to be something it’s not. It all tastes like Passover. Which is unfortunate. Passover is a bright, vibrant holiday with rich meaning, significance and story. It is our holiday of freedom and reminds us to connect with the oppressed and the silenced. So why do we let the food consume the messages of persistence and determination? But…
The Power of Light
So many of our rituals start and end with light. Shabbat begins with the lighting of candles and ends with the flickering flames of Havdalah. On Passover we begin the festival with bedikat chametz, the searching of our homes for chametz with the light of a small candle to lead the way. As we search out leavened bread with a candle, so too we are meant to search out the pride, egotism, and haughtiness that weigh down our souls. As I mentioned this concept to a friend, she explained that it sounds like a ritual celebrated during the Persian New…
Do You Ignore Someone Else’s Pain?
We are created to witness and embrace heartache. A close friend of mine relayed an experience she encountered at the mikveh. The mikveh is a pool of water used for ritual purposes. Women and men immerse in the mikveh before their wedding, women immerse after their monthly cycle, and often the mikveh is used to help a person reemerge into life after a struggle or setback. At the mikveh, my friend noticed a pregnant woman sitting next to another woman. The woman was marveling over her pregnant friend’s belly, feeling the kicks and pokes from the ever-crowded baby, and both…
Does the Soul Survive?
In my various conversations with congregants, this question resurfaces time and time again. After the body quiets, does the soul live on? Basically, what happens after you die? Judaism offers a variety of answers. Dr. Eitan Fishbane, associate professor of Jewish Thought at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America explains that while “we are so deeply embodied, that is not the true essence of who we are.” Meaning, in this world, we are taught to focus on our physical bodies. How we look, what we wear, what we eat and how others perceive our exterior. However, Dr. Fishbane reveals a…
Run as Fast as You Can
Rabbi Sherman and other delegates from Sinai Temple ran in the Jerusalem marathon. What you may not know is that they ran for a beautiful cause. As their feet pounded the holy stones of the old city, our members held Shalva in the hearts: a respite home and therapy center for children with special needs. Shalva does not discriminate based on religion, ethnicity or gender. All are welcome. As well, each Sinai Temple delegate ran to honor someone important and significant in their lives. Rabbi Sherman and his sister, Nitza ran to honor their brother, Eyal. Eyal is a 35-year-old…
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