Havurat Shalom

06/04/2026

The word for this week begins with the letter “Ayin” (ע). Here it is: עָבַר. As a noun it means "past", as in "past tense". As a verb it means to cross over. We describe ourselves and our language using forms of this word: עִבְרִי, the ones who crossed over (i.e. the Jews) and עִבְרִית, "Hebrew". We use these words because when we entered the land formerly known as Canaan, we came from the wilderness and crossed over the Jordan river to get into the land. It's interesting, especially in light of current Israeli politics that we are known primarily as "the ones who crossed over", meaning "the ones who arrived from somewhere else". What do you make of that? Do you think there are any effects of the situation where the way we refer to ourselves and our language is essentially as "coming from somewhere else" or do you see it differently?

If you want to talk about this more, join us for the [not just for] kids service Friday at 6:30 on Zoom. Email [email protected] to get the Zoom link.

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06/03/2026

See this month's blog post, in which Aaron Brandes discusses the similarities of nature and a spiritual practice:

by Aaron Brandes

06/03/2026

See this month's newsletter:

05/28/2026

The word for this week begins with the letter “Samech” (ס). Here it is: סְנֶה. It means "bush", specifically the biblical burning bush since that's just about the only place that word occurs. I (Aliza) usually choose words that are important for understanding the prayers and are part of what I call the "siddur vocabulary". This time I chose a word that made me think about attention and observation. As we'll read in the original during the service, Moses noticed the burning bush in the desert and turned aside to look at it more carefully. He didn't stop to look at it because he was concerned about a fire in the wilderness. He stopped because he noticed that the bush was burning but was not burning up. This phrase "the bush was not consumed" became the motto of the Jewish Conservative Movement. It also bears a strong resemblance to the word סִינַי, the mountain where we received the Torah. The Midrash says that this mountain was near the place where Moses noticed the bush. Do you think there's greater significance in the fact that Moses actually noticed that the bush wasn't burning up, or that something can be burning but not burning up? Think about that, especially in the light of what's going on in our country and our world.

If you want to talk about this more, join us for the [not just for] kids service at Friday 6:30 on Zoom. Email [email protected] for the Zoom link.

05/21/2026

The word for this week begins with the letter “Nun” (נ): נָפַל. It means "fell". It refers to falling, like falling down and getting hurt and also falling from a good situation to a bad one. One interesting word related to our word of the week occurs a few times in the Bible and refers to some sort of giant, larger than life creature. Here's the word: נְפִילִים. Here's the verse from Genesis 6:4 in English:

"It was then, and later too, that the נְפִילִים appeared on earth—when divine beings cohabited with the human women, who bore them offspring. Such were the heroes of old, the men of renown."
What could this possibly have to do with falling? Two commentators had 2 different ideas, which we'll see at the service.

If you want to talk about this more, join us for the [not just for] kids service at 6:30 tomorrow on Zoom.