By David Cohen, Director of Congregational Learning This past weekend, Rabbi Cohen and I had the pleasure of taking our wonderful 10th grade students on this year’s Confirmation Class retreat. We stayed in an amazingly quirky adobe style home in the middle of the desert near Joshua Tree National Park – where we had the […]
Author Archive | Jill Weinthal
Parashat Noach
by Rabbi Charles A. Kroloff Do you believe in second chances? According to the Torah, God does. After the earth became corrupt and God determined “to wipe them (all flesh) off the earth” (Genesis 6:13), God gave Noah a heads up and told him to become maritime savvy and build an ark so that his […]
Parashat Bereishit
by Rabbi Shelton Donnell Another year has passed and the cycle of Torah readings returns to the beginning with Parashat Bereishit in which we read many well-known stories from the creation of the world to that of the human race. Amidst all of these familiar tales – at the very end of the portion hidden […]
Sukkot 5774
by Cantor David E. Reinwald Sukkot is the first time we read from one of the megillot, the five scrolls, during the year. Even though it seems that the time for introspection has just ended with the closing of Yom Kippur, the reading of the book of Ecclesiastes (Kohelet in Hebrew) seems to say otherwise. […]
Parashat Nitzvaim/Vayelekh
Rabbi Shelton Donnell We are almost at the end of the book of Deuteronomy and now we find ourselves at the double-portion of Nitzavim/Vayelekh that include Moses’ leave-taking from the people and the appointment of Joshua as the new leader who shall bring the people across the Jordan. The parting words of Moses are particularly […]
D’var Torah: Parashat Ki Tavo
By David Cohen, Director of Congregational Learning As a leader of many youth trips and tours in Israel, the Torah portions at the end of the summer have a special place in my heart. There is something about being able to stand on a hill in Jerusalem – or anywhere in Israel – and ask […]
D’var Torah: Parashat Ki Teitzei
by Cantor David E. Reinwald Over the past two years, I have taken a really in-depth interest in finding connections between the trope (chant) of our texts and the words it highlights. Trope is a system of interpretation that deserves full recognition alongside any of the other classic commentaries (ie: Rashi, Ibn Ezra, et al). […]
The 2013 Maccabi Games
by Rabbi Heidi M. Cohen This past Sunday, Orange County’s Jewish community welcomed over 2300 youth from around the United States, Canada, Mexico, Great Britain and Israel for this year’s Maccabi games. Started in 1982, the Maccabi games bring the Jewish community together in the spirit of competition, sharing talent, and developing lasting friendships. Sitting […]
Parashat Ekev Deuteronomy 7:12 – 11:25
by Rabbi Shelton Donnell Everyone admires the entrepreneur, the one who sees an opening of opportunity before anyone else and dives right in, going for the brass ring of success. Our society crowns its achievers and its risk-takers with material rewards and often celebrity status as well. That is not to say that we do […]
Parashat Vaetchanan
by Cantor David E. Reinwald Sh’ma. And at once we were on our feet, but now I am fine seated Feeling the ground, the grounding of these words, the expression of this wholeness of connection At once personal and at the same time communal, no matter where We express these words Together One people Saying […]