by mussar | Jan 8, 2021 | January, Newsletter, Notes From The Rabbi
I have always believed that the ideals of American democracy were a sure sign of the Infinite Source of Goodness in the Cosmos. The very fact that those ideals were articulated by very flawed human beings, people who sanctioned the genocide of the native population,...
by mussar | Jan 7, 2021 | Highlight on Madrichim, January, Newsletter
Throughout her life, Karen Kripke has sought authentic and meaningful ways to express her Jewishness. Although she enjoyed attending Hebrew school and was active in her Reform synagogue in New York, traditional services and liturgy never inspired her. As a college...
by mussar | Jan 6, 2021 | January, Newsletter, Student Platform
Mussar is Judaism’s best-kept secret – not well-known within the Jewish community, much less outside of it. But as a non-Jew who is studying Mussar through the Center for Contemporary Mussar, I’m very grateful that I found it and can experience its life-transforming...
by mussar | Jan 6, 2021 | January, Message from the Leadership, Newsletter
This year we are entering 2021 at the exact same moment that we are entering a new book of Torah. The transition from Genesis into Exodus is a hinge moment, and not just in the outer narrative of the Israelites’ adventure. If we understand Torah (in part) as a roadmap...
by mussar | Jan 6, 2021 | January, Message from the Chair, Newsletter
It will be a long time before the enormity of the year 2020 can be fully absorbed and integrated into our psyches, but from the vantage point of just a few days into the new calendar year, we can reflect on the highlights (yes there were some!) of the year, at least...