By Rabbi Sam Yolen, Congregation Beth Israel
As the list of people lost directly to COVID or to COVID-related complications grows, I’d like to share my personal story of loss. It’s with a heavy heart that I remember my Grandmother Annabell Schwartz this spring, and I hope that readi…
By Rabbi Sam Yolen, Congregation Beth Israel, Lebanon
Surviving this past year without technology would not have been possible. From the moment I get up in the morning, to the moment I lay my head down to rest, my thoughts are occupied with the concerns of our sacred community. If not f…
Chisuk Emuna Congregation is proud to announce that Rabbi Ron Muroff received an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree at a virtual convocation on Sunday, January 31st at 1 p.m. through the Jewish Theological Seminary! The ceremony celebrated his achievements as one of the distinguished members…
By Rabbi Sam Yolen, Congregation Beth Israel Lebanon
Abraham Joshua Heshel, writing his book The Sabbath, presented an idea summed up as such: “It is not things that give meaning to time, but time that gives meaning to things.”
How much more is that true during a pandemic? When space i…
by Rabbi Sam Yolen, Congregation Beth Israel, Lebanon
“I’m sorry.” I hear the words drop out of me like rain from the sky. I don’t want to say them. Words of apology don’t come easy to me. Sometimes, when I say them, I don’t feel their weight when they roll off my lips. I just s…
