Rabbi Julie’s sermon on Kol Nidre, 2023/5784
This past summer, my family visited Makhtesh Ramon, the massive crater in the Negev desert in Israel, the largest such crater on planet Earth. The view of the Ramon Crater from above, from the lookout in Mitzpei Ramon, is breathtaking and otherworldly. I have been privileged to see it with my own eyes three times in my life.
Thanks to an initial anonymous donation, the Congregation Shomrei Emunah Zelda and Rabbi David Greenstein Fund for Social Justice Fund is being established to support special projects that represent Zelda’s and the Rabbi’s legacy. Shomrei congregants can submit a proposal to apply for funds that will be used by the member or a group of members to advance the Shomrei community’s commitment to and involvement in social justice. Continue reading
“Our goal is to create a beloved community and this will require a qualitative change in our souls as well as a quantitative change in our lives.” Dr. Martin Luther King.
When I walk into Shomrei, enter the lobby and climb the stairs for services, I have a “life is good” kind of feeling, That powerful sense of connection is strengthened when I volunteer and one of my favorite forms of volunteering is ushering. I get to say hello to people I know, people I haven’t seen in a while, and introduce myself to people I don’t know. The experience of being connected is joyous. Continue reading
Editor’s Note: Rabbi Julie originally gave this sermon during the Kol Nidre service, Oct 2022.
In 1918, at the age of 5, Joe Fine started attending religious school at Shomrei Emunah in the original building on Bloomfield Avenue. He remembers being sent home a few years later, at the age of 8 or 9, for coming to High Holiday services dressed in a new cardigan sweater and trousers made by his grandfather because he wasn’t wearing a suit jacket. When asked what the town of Montclair was like in the 1920’s, Joe described Bloomfield Avenue, starting at the corner of Maple, store by store, beginning with Wilensky’s department store, which was owned by Louie and his three brothers, Morris, Sammie, and Haimie and then continuing up the street to the pharmacy. Continue reading
Editor’s Note: This speech was originally given on the first day of Rosh Hashanah (Sept 2022)
L’Shana Tovah!
It is wonderful to see so many of you in this space.
I want to speak with you about Open-Door Judaism, how Shomrei epitomizes the spirit of the open-door philosophy and how we can each engage with it, and Shomrei during this new year. Open Door Judaism at Shomrei means the active and ongoing removal of barriers to find comfort and spirituality in the Judaism each member wishes to explore.
The following generous Tributes and Donations were made this past month
Make a donation or send a tribute online! visit: http://shomrei.org/donate
Continue reading
It’s March and Women’s History Month. With Purim occurring in March this year-although it’s always celebrated on the 14th of the Hebrew month of Adar- it’s appropriate to call to mind Jewish women of achievement.
Don’t be put off by children’s books if you are an adult. Children’s and young adult books cut right to the heart of a topic and are an excellent way to be introduced to a subject that is new to the reader. Continue reading
The following generous Tributes and Donations were made this past month
Make a donation or send a tribute online! visit: http://shomrei.org/donate
Continue reading
The following generous Tributes and Donations were made this past month
Make a donation or send a tribute online! visit: http://shomrei.org/donate
Continue reading
The following generous Tributes and Donations were made these past months.
Make a donation or send a tribute online! visit: http://shomrei.org/donate
Continue reading