From the Rabbi

Words of the Spirit, by Rabbi Liz Bolton, Or Haneshamah's rabbi and spiritual leader

During the Jewish months of Elul and Tishrey, I invite you to take each of four themes, and consider them in your thoughts, conversations or rituals. They represent the three simplest essentials of prayers, with a fourth seasonally-specific one: PLEASE. THANKS. YAY! FORGIVE ME. 

Thanks: the very first word in the litany of daily Jewish prayer; one of the two “magic” words we remind children to use; a word that can sometimes...Read more...

This mid-summer holiday-that-is-not-a-holy-day, mourning a historical event to which we have difficulty relating, is among the least-observed date on the calendar in liberal Jewish communities. Perhaps the early rabbis felt its difficulties as well, and so added to this fast day commemorating the destruction of the First (586 BCE) and Second Temples (70 CE) in Jerusalem a cumulative list of disasters that have befallen the Jewish people, such...Read more...

It’s graduation season. We read reports of interesting (or boring) speeches by famous (or boring) personages. Closer to home, we celebrate with our kin significant milestones: a child’s graduation to the next school level; a young adult’s completion of a degree.

What about the rest of the time? How do we mark the adult phases of the seasons of learning? We encourage life-long learning, but aren’t familiar with the experience...Read more...

This past Sunday evening, eight OrH members waded into the choppy waters of Israeli-Palestinian-conflict conversation. To properly extend the metaphor, perhaps I should say instead: we started by dipping in our toes, but quickly dove in, knowing that no one would drown.

We accomplished this using tools first introduced to us by previous student rabbis. Some of you may have participated in those structured conversations, using...Read more...

As many recent surveys and studies note, Passover is the holiday most celebrated and observed by Jews in North America. And while some of you may justifiably contend that this honour belongs to the Days of Awe in the fall, the difference falls to the central event, namely the seder.

The seder is the premier home-based ritual practised by Jews of all stages, ages, and places on the Jewish spectrum. It’s our peoples’ annual...Read more...