Posts by Rabbi Nicole Guzik

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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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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For the last two Purim carnivals, I dressed up like Queen Elsa. The decision was quite deliberate. A rabbi dressed up like Elsa? Every little girl and boy ran up to me, gave me huge hugs, took photos—and parents proceeded to buy more tickets at their children’s insistence. But this year, I cannot conscionably dress up as a character from a Disney movie. Not because I don’t love “Frozen” or “Moana.” These are two of my favorite movies with characters that have much to teach my 5-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son. But I will save those lessons for another time….

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She asked the same questions over and over again. One of our congregants took her eight-year-old daughter to a nearby senior home to visit the Alzheimer’s and dementia unit. One of our clergy members was leading a Shabbat service and our Sinai Temple kids and the members of the senior home listened to the prayers and swayed to the music. An elderly woman leaned over to the little girl and asked, “What’s your name?” The little girl answered. She continued, “How old are you?” The little girl answered. The elderly woman leaned in, offered a smile that lit up the…

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