Counting the Omer

by Rabbi Sonya Starr As I cleaned my house ridding myself of chametz, I was watching the news reports about the March for Our Lives. As I was physically preparing for Passover, I was witnessing a new generation of Americans demanding change. As I thought about our Seders, I remembered that the counting of the Continue Reading »

G’milut Chasadim and The CJC Caring Committee

by Steve Kramer, CJC Co-President G’milut Chasadim According to a story told by Jewish mystics, when G-d desired to create the world G-d was everywhere, with the divine light filling up all of existence. So G-d withdrew some of the light to make a space for the universe—and then breathed the light back into the Continue Reading »

New Year’s Resolution – Time to Speak Up

Sermon for Parshat Shemot By Cantor Ben Kintisch The New Year’s holiday has come and gone, and, well 5 days in, how are you doing? If you made a resolution, are you sticking to it? No judgement from me – I’m just a human boy person, and I am fallible, and I, too, have trouble Continue Reading »

“Wrestling with God” Parshat Vayishlach

By Cantor Ben Kintisch Presented at CJC Friday Night Services 12/1/17 I think the earliest memory I have of wrestling was at the height of the WWF, watching with fascination as Hulk Hogan battled with his rivals. All of them were massive, big muscles and tiny uniforms, which added to the spectacle. Each match unfolded Continue Reading »

May We Find a New Just Peaceful Path Together

By Rabbi Sonya Starr Recent events reminded me that the months after 9/11 were filled with contention, fear, anxiety and confrontation. These feelings have been expressed to almost the same degree in the past couple of weeks. Hurricanes, forest fires, earthquakes, White nationalist rallies, mass shootings, and terrorist attacks fill the news and our consciousness. Continue Reading »

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