Rabbi's Message: Gratitude

The Hebrew word  עבודה (avodah) is often translated as work, but it also means service, and often, sacred service. It can be understood as manual labor, and also as prayer.

Thank you to our outgoing board members: Jay Basin, Jon Koller, Noah Purcell, and Jackie Victor for their avodah. They have done the manual labor that prepares our building to be a sacred space and they have devoted their hearts and minds to building sacred community. Thank you for serving and shaping this synagogue.

And thank you to our incoming board members: Lauren Hoffman, David Kirsch, and Sam Woll for taking on this sacred task. We are so fortunate that you will share your talents, wisdom, enthusiasm, and love for the Synagogue in this new role.

Each of us has a part to play as the Synagogue grows and I encourage you to try something new. Consider learning to lead a service or chanting Torah/Haftarah (we can teach you!). Share your passion and insights in a committee. Let us know if you have an idea you would like to explore or skill you can contribute. It is the avodah we do, to serve one another and to serve the Divine, that will build a remarkable Jewish future.
Thank you for what you have done and for all that is yet to come. 

With gratitude,
Rabbi Silverman

Rabbi's Message: The Environment

Rabbi's Message: The Environment

After I graduated from college, I went to Washington DC to do environmental advocacy, first on behalf of the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life, and then for the Sierra Club. For three years, I taught kids, congregations, and members of Congress about how we could be better stewards of the Earth. When I'm asked why I left Washington to go to rabbinical school, I sometimes joke that it was when I realized I couldn't save the world that I decided to become a rabbi.

Rabbi's Sermon Rosh Hashanah Day 1: Our Memories

Thank you Aramis for that warm introduction. I am grateful to you for being my teacher, and for the privilege of calling you my friend. And thank you, and your congregation, for hosting us in this home of the Bethel Community Transformation Center, this home of Breakers Covenant Church International, this Beth El, house of God, that is truly a house of prayer for all peoples. Isaiah’s prophetic vision is etched on this building, and you have brought it to life. Continue reading...