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Raise a Flame of Integrity That Endures

06/11/2025 09:10:33 AM

Jun11

Rabbi Sam Trief

This week, the world witnessed a troubling display of misplaced activism when Greta Thunberg and others attempted to breach Israeli waters aboard what was widely dubbed a "selfie yacht" headed toward Gaza. 

Israeli naval forces intercepted the vessel off the coast and brought it into Ashdod without incident. Thunberg and several passengers were deported, while others opted for...Read more...

An Annual Celebration

06/05/2025 12:39:48 PM

Jun5

Rabbi Ron Segal

This past Sunday was Temple Sinai’s annual celebration, a far better characterization of what occurs than “annual meeting” conveys. We recognized fellow members for their outstanding contributions as volunteers and leaders, heard about the continued successes of our stellar Sinai Preschool, learned about exciting and important synagogue initiatives that came to fruition this past year, and appreciated the update on our...Read more...

Finding Ourselves in the Wilderness

05/29/2025 10:07:09 AM

May29

Beth Schafer

Each year as we begin reading the Book of Numbers—Bamidbar in Hebrew—we find ourselves journeying into the wilderness. Bamidbar, meaning "in the desert" or "in the wilderness," opens with a census, a meticulous accounting of each Israelite, tribe by tribe. On the surface, this portion seems to focus on logistics and numbers, but beneath the surface lies a profound metaphor for the Jewish experience of navigating uncertainty.

The...Read more...

When Being Together is Sacred

05/22/2025 11:40:51 AM

May22

Rabbi Brad Levenberg

This past weekend, when I spoke at Northwest Unitarian Universalist Church, I was asked what, according to Judaism, makes a space sacred. I talked about people, about purpose, and about how our memories can transform a place from the everyday to the sacred. But after last night, I’m thinking about it differently. Maybe a space becomes sacred when we choose to show up in it, even when it would be easier and safer, to stay away.

The...Read more...

Trust Sacred Time

05/20/2025 08:24:09 AM

May20

Rabbi Brad Levenberg

A few weeks ago, someone asked me to identify the most important commandment in the Torah. I gave a rabbinic answer (“It depends”) and cited a few classics: love your neighbor as yourself, justice, justice shall you pursue, choose life and probably a few others as well. That led to the next question: “Which commandment,” they asked, “is the hardest to actually follow?”

While I answered that it was probably the...Read more...

A Tribute to Beth – Celebrating 10 Years at Sinai

05/15/2025 08:06:47 AM

May15

Rabbi Sam Trief

This Friday night, we gather not only to welcome Shabbat—not only to pray or find comfort in one another after an overwhelming week for the Jewish people—but also to celebrate someone who has been a true gift to our congregation and to our lives: Beth Schafer, and her ten extraordinary years at Temple Sinai.

We'll honor Beth throughout our Shabbat service, and continue the celebration afterward with hors d'oeuvres, drinks, and...Read more...

Reflections of Our Time in Greece

05/08/2025 08:37:35 AM

May8

Rabbi Ron Segal

The Little Liar, Mitch Albom’s latest novel, opens in the city of Salonika (formally, Thessaloniki) in Greece, not long before almost the entire Jewish community is loaded in boxcars and sent to their deaths in Auschwitz-Birkenau. In the initial pages, Albom notes: “This book is a work of fiction,” and “references to real people, events, establishments, or locales are intended only to provide a sense of authenticity.” However, the...Read more...

Blue Jean Shabbat

04/29/2025 08:01:39 AM

Apr29

Rabbi Brad Levenberg

This week at Temple Sinai, our Shabbat Celebrating Israel, aka Blue Jean Shabbat, will carry special meaning as we mark the anniversary of Israel’s founding. In a world where headlines so often focus on conflict and challenge, it’s important to pause and remember the extraordinary story that Israel’s creation represents and the ongoing miracle that its existence continues to be.

When David Ben-Gurion stood before the world...Read more...

In Honor of Yom HaShoah

04/23/2025 01:59:11 PM

Apr23

Rabbi Sam Trief

I’ll never forget the first time I learned about the Holocaust. It was in second grade at Congregation Mount Sinai in Brooklyn Heights. 

When we arrived at religious school that day, there were signs all over the classroom. If you had blonde hair, you went to one room, and if you had brown hair, you went to another. 

The water fountains were marked with who could drink from them, with different students' names. And...Read more...

Judaism & Earth Day

04/15/2025 11:57:09 AM

Apr15

Beth Schafer

This past week, many of us at our seders recited the blessing over karpas, or, “fruit of the earth,” often represented by parsley. And, 6 months ago, many of us spent time in a sukkah so that we could be more in touch with our environment and engage with our fall harvest holiday. A few weeks from now we will read in the Torah how it is not only humans that are commanded to celebrate Shabbat, but every seven...Read more...

Build. Back. Better

04/09/2025 09:00:55 AM

Apr9

Rabbi Natan Trief

"Living in this region has always been 95% heaven and 5% hell.” As we walked through the beautiful streets of Kibbutz Be’eri, our host, Nieve Higgins, shared this often-repeated sentence since October 7th. The gates of the kibbutz are still guarded by the army, and outside visitors are not allowed inside. They made an exception for us because of the special partnership that Temple Sinai has created with this storied...Read more...

Show Up

04/01/2025 07:54:18 AM

Apr1

Rabbi Brad Levenberg

Let’s be honest: Our Torah portion this week, Vayikra, as Rabbi Ron Segal once told a student, is a bit of a “snoozer.”

The Book of Exodus gave us liberation, revolution, thunder on the mountain; Numbers will give us drama, rebellion, even talking animals. But Leviticus? Leviticus gives us... skin conditions, grain offerings, and the priestly equivalent of a cookbook.

But buried in all that procedural holiness is...Read more...

Our Greatness Weakness Can Be Our Greatest Strength

03/26/2025 08:15:13 AM

Mar26

Rabbi Sam Trief

One of my favorite memories from my junior year abroad was dining at The BlackOut Restaurant,  just outside Tel Aviv.

BlackOut is one of the world's few completely dark restaurants, where diners eat in total darkness. The absence of sight enhances the other senses, making flavors, textures, and aromas more intense.

Beyond offering a unique culinary experience, BlackOut also exemplifies Tel Aviv’s reputation for social...Read more...

A Vision of Eden

03/19/2025 10:34:51 AM

Mar19

Rabbi Ron Segal

The safari in South Africa from which our family returned earlier this week was easily the most spectacular and memorable trip we have ever taken. In the months prior, countless people shared that their family’s safari vacation was the “best trip they had ever taken,” so we admittedly went with high hopes and expectations. They were exceeded in every way possible. The safari experience was awesome, awe-inspiring, and also a profound...Read more...

Stand With Us & Vote Reform

03/12/2025 12:16:13 PM

Mar12

Rabbi Sam Trief

On the tragic morning of October 7th, the Kapshiter family was simply driving home from a routine road trip—from Ashkelon to Be’er Sheva—when they were ambushed and murdered by Hamas terrorists. Yania and Dina, along with their children, Aline (8) and Eitan (5), were brutally taken from this world.

As their grieving families sought to lay them to rest together, the...Read more...

All It Takes is A Single Small Flame

03/03/2025 11:47:19 AM

Mar3

Rabbi Brad Levenberg

A few years ago, a rabbi visited a prison to lead a Chanukah service. As he lit the menorah, one of the inmates whispered, “Rabbi, this is the first time I’ve seen a candle in years.” The prison prohibited open flames, but for this one sacred night, they made an exception. The man stared at the flickering light, his face a mix of awe and longing. “I forgot how much light one small flame can bring,” he said.

This week’s...Read more...

Build Bridges of Care & Understanding

02/24/2025 09:52:13 AM

Feb24

Rabbi Brad Levenberg

This week’s Torah portion, Terumah, invites us into a sacred act of creation and contribution. In preparing the materials for the portable sanctuary, our ancestors demonstrated that every offering, when given with heartfelt intention, became a building block for a dwelling of the Divine. These contributions were not just physical gifts; they were acts of love that transformed ordinary resources into a holy sanctuary—a tangible symbol of...Read more...

Love & Words of Blessing

02/20/2025 12:12:29 PM

Feb20

Rabbi Ron Segal

When we pray for something from the depths of our souls, desperately hoping that certain news won’t come, as the very thing we feared materializes before us we are left to grapple with a profound sense of loss and sorrow. Our hearts are broken by the devastating news of the deaths of Shiri, Kfir, and Ariel Bibas. While acknowledging the ongoing tragedy of the 1200+ people murdered on October 7, the hundreds of IDF soldiers who have fallen...Read more...

A Prayer for Children

02/20/2025 10:12:37 AM

Feb20

Your Clergy Team

Dear Friends,

Our hearts are shattered alongside yours as we mourn the unfathomable loss of Shiri, Kfir, and Ariel Bibas. There are no words that can make sense of such a tragedy, no explanations that can ease the horrors of the way we lost them.

We find solace in each other, and in the unbreakable strength of our Sinai Community.

Shiri, Kfir and Ariel’s laughter, presence, and...Read more...

A House of Support

02/12/2025 08:49:43 AM

Feb12

Beth Schafer

A synagogue is known by three names: Beit Knesset, a House of Gathering, Beit Mikdash, a House of Learning, and Beit Tefilah, a House of Prayer. We have all experienced Temple Sinai in each of these ways at some time or another. Did you know that we are also a House of Support? While our clergy team is always available to support you during your best and most challenging times of life, we have members dedicated to supporting you as...Read more...

A Time to Learn, Reflect and Celebrate

02/05/2025 10:23:13 AM

Feb5

Rabbi Sam Trief

What is the purpose of the weekly Shabbat to Shabbat column? Some weeks it’s a chance to share Torah. Other times, it’s an opportunity to explore Jewish commentary on our world. At times, we focus on sacred texts, and at others, we highlight the incredible opportunities provided to us by Sinai and the larger Atlanta Jewish community.

This Shabbat, I want to take a moment to do the...Read more...

How Are You Using Your Freedom?

01/27/2025 08:42:09 AM

Jan27

Rabbi Brad Levenberg

Freedom is a complicated thing. In Parashat Bo, we see the Israelites on the cusp of liberation after generations of slavery. But it doesn’t come with a simple snap of the fingers. Instead, it’s a messy process, punctuated by plagues, Pharaoh’s stubbornness, and the Israelites’ own hesitations. And yet, in the midst of this chaos, the Torah introduces something remarkable: the first mitzvah given to the Jewish people as a...Read more...

Growth Begins in Discomfort

01/21/2025 11:34:02 AM

Jan21

Rabbi Brad Levenberg

Life is filled with moments when we feel inadequate, uncertain, or overwhelmed by the tasks in front of us. Whether it’s navigating a career change, mending a relationship, or simply trying to make it through the day, we all encounter times when we doubt our ability to rise to the challenge.

In Parashat Vaera, Moses is tasked with leading an entire nation to freedom. But he doesn’t begin as a confident leader. He questions...Read more...

Support Our Los Angeles Fires Disaster Relief

01/15/2025 10:36:52 AM

Jan15

Rabbi Ron Segal

For more than a week now, we have watched with an aching sense of helplessness the devastation of biblical proportions caused by the Greater Los Angeles fires. Along with the tragic loss of life (24 individuals as of this writing), more than 12,000 homes, businesses, schools, a synagogue, and other structures have burnt to the ground since last Tuesday when this catastrophe began. Included among the devastation are the homes of close to 400...Read more...

Hope is a Choice

01/01/2025 08:16:15 AM

Jan1

Rabbi Brad Levenberg

As we stand in these opening days of the new year, we find ourselves reflecting on the moments that shaped us in the past and looking toward the promise of what is to come. Jewish tradition teaches us that each year offers a new beginning, an opportunity for renewal and transformation. This moment is one of profound hope as we are reminded that no matter what challenges we’ve faced, to some degree, even if only in mindset and...Read more...

Spread the Light

12/24/2024 09:22:12 AM

Dec24

Rabbbi Natan Trief

At times, it can feel as though life is a zero-sum game. We may be led to believe--whether directly or indirectly--that we must compete for life’s finite resources. Judaism, however, teaches us something very different. 

One of the most beautiful and instructive things about candles is that they can spread the flame to other candles without diminishing their own light. During this Festival of Lights, when the days are the...Read more...

We Come From Dreamers

12/18/2024 08:07:51 AM

Dec18

Beth Schafer

A few weeks ago, we read in the Torah the story of Jacob. He was on his way to reunite with his brother, Esau, with whom he parted under terrible circumstances. Jacob feared Esau and the possible retribution awaiting him. Jacob laid down to sleep using a rock as a pillow. That night he had a fantastic dream of angels ascending and descending a ladder. One interpretation of that dream is that angels begin here on earth. In Hebrew, the word for...Read more...

Together We Heal

12/12/2024 08:38:12 AM

Dec12

Rabbi Sam Trief

This past week has been profoundly heart-wrenching for the Atlanta Jewish community, as we mourn the tragic death of Ari Manuel “Manny” Pargman.

While I did not have the privilege of knowing Manny personally, I am incredibly moved by the heartfelt stories and tributes shared by members of our Sinai family. His death is a devastating reminder that members of our community are silently...Read more...

We Must Climb

12/02/2024 07:56:54 AM

Dec2

Rabbi Brad Levenberg

Our Torah begins with our ancestor, Jacob, on the run, an outlaw from his family and his people. Exhausted, he came to a certain place and rested there for the night, dreaming a vivid dream of a ladder reaching to heaven. As he awakened from his dream, he exclaimed, “Surely god is present in this place, and I did not know it!” (Genesis 28:11-16).

The ancient text speaks to us today as it surely did to our ancestors, and it compels...Read more...

Step Out of Your Bubble

11/20/2024 11:26:47 AM

Nov20

Rabbi Sam Trief

Last week, for the first time in a long while, I stepped out of my “Bubble.” While I love my Bubble and the amazing people and places that fill it, I realized that I had been walking around with my eyes closed for many months.

With Janie Fishman, the lay leader who leads Temple Sinai’s refugee efforts, we drove 16.7 miles to what felt like the other side of the planet. We drove to...Read more...

Sat, June 14 2025 18 Sivan 5785