April 16th is National Healthcare Decisions Day. This is a good day to think about your potential healthcare needs, or the decisions your family might need to make if you were unable to communicate your wishes. Then start planning an advance care directive and assign someone as your healthcare proxy, the person who will help …
A Message from Rabbi Joshua M. Davidson March 17, 2021 — — — Dear Friends, We awoke this morning to the horrific news of the shooting deaths of eight people in Atlanta. As Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said: “Whatever the motivation was…we know that the majority of the victims were Asian. We also know that …
A rabbi asks his congregation what the future holds. Their answers provide a blueprint for innovation. By JOSHUA M. DAVIDSON January 14, 2021 I have never been a fan of surveys, particularly as measures of Jewish life. Questionnaires may have their place in identifying trends, but for plumbing the deeper meanings of Jewish identity and experience, …
March 3, 2021 Dear Congregants, As you may have read, on Monday Israel’s High Court issued an important ruling recognizing non-Orthodox conversions to Judaism conducted in Israel as conveying citizenship under Israel’s Law of Return. It is, as I said in this Haaretz article, a wonderful development in the struggle for religious pluralism in Israel, and …
by Greg Rasin and Cameron Koffman Temple members, Gather Guides I t was March 10th, a cold day filled with apprehension as the COVID-19 pandemic began to grip the country. We were scheduled to hold our second monthly Gathers. Out of an abundance of caution, at the last minute we changed the meetings from in-person …
Bettijane Eisenpreis By Bettijane Eisenpreis Joseph died at the age of one hundred and ten years; he was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt. ~ Genesis 50: 26 The story of Joseph is a dramatic one. It was the basis of Thomas Mann’s acclaimed four-part novel, Joseph and His Brothers and of the …
You can still make a difference in the lives of others in our city. Temple Emanu-El works with a number of organizations that are still accepting donations through December and beyond. New: Urban Outreach Center Coat Drive Please help to keep those warm who do not have a coat this winter season. The Urban Outreach Center on …
by Rabbi Joshua M. Davidson Originally published in The Times of Isreal, The Blogs – November 16, 2020. “And it came to pass at the turning of the year, the season when kings go off to battle, that David instead sent Joab….” So begins II Samuel 11, and the story of David and Bathsheba. Idling at …
by Rabbi Joshua M. Davidson Tomorrow morning we will awaken to the aftermath of one of the most significant elections in American history. And the coming days and weeks may find our country divided against itself, with many on edge fearing maneuvers to undermine the vote, angry demonstrations, and violence in our streets. Wednesday also …
by Rabbi Joshua M. Davidson Forward — October 27, 2020 I remember as a young child how my parents would take me with them into the voting booth to teach me not just how all the levers worked, but how democracy worked. For Jews of an earlier America, voting was a sacred privilege. Our immigrant …
a sacred act that protects all that you value! We praise You, Eternal God, Sovereign of the universe, who calls us to holiness and commands us to pursue tzedek (justice). Here is how to make your voice heard — decide how you will vote: Vote in person during the nine early voting days: Saturday, October …
