Blog

This past Sunday Jews around the world observed Tisha B’Av. The ninth day of the month of Av is said to have been the date marking the destruction of the first Temple in Jerusalem and is a time of grief and mourning marked by fasting and chanting from the Book of Lamentations. Although many Reform Jews do not observe this day, it is a marker on the calendar worth noting as it sets up the following Shabbat known as Shabbat Nachamu, the...Read more...

A Talmudic verse in Pirkei Avot wisely counsels that one should not try to appease or placate a friend when they are at the height of anger. Fifteen hundred years ago, the sages of our tradition already understood that consuming anger impedes one’s ability to listen to reason and to act rationally. A lesson derived from words in this week’s Torah portion (Matot) in the book of Numbers further reinforces this timeless...Read more...

As we enter these long summer days, my mind drifts to one of the most common Jewish teachings: it is not incumbent upon you to finish the work, but nor are you free to desist from it. 

With our normal routines somewhat scattered, and as we enter into summer mode, perhaps we find ourselves a little more disconnected than usual. 

And while this summer recharging represents a...Read more...

What a difference a week makes!

Just one week ago, when our Shabbat to Shabbat was reaching your inbox, we formally dedicated our Lonnie Cooper Outdoor Chapel. A structure that is visually stunning and wonderfully inspiring, the moment of its dedication was accented by the setting of the sun…which made the space appear and feel even more incredible. It is exciting indeed to imagine what will happen in that space, at that place –...Read more...

A few weeks ago we read from the Book of Leviticus “v’ahavta l’reiacha kamocha,” or, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Rabbi Hillel and Rabbi Akiva and countless others believed it to be one of the most important understandings of Jewish life.

There are two statements contained in these words of Torah. The first, you must love yourself. There is no pathway to loving another until you can love the person you are. We are so...Read more...

Two weeks after communicating Temple Sinai’s revised COVID protocols at the end of April, the CDC dramatically changed their COVID guidelines, warranting a complete overhaul of our own policies and procedures. The Temple Sinai Covid Task Force, in consultation with Sinai’s Physician Advisory Panel, is thus pleased to share the following reopening update and plans effective June 1. 

Vaccination Status, Social...Read more...

It has been a rather challenging week to say the least. Many of us have expressed growing concerns related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Still others have been inundated with concerns related to acceptance and trust of the new CDC guidelines. Still others have experienced illness as some non-Covid virus passes through our communities, rendering people ill physically. To say nothing of the surgeries and passings that have touched our...Read more...

As we approach our first Shabbat in the month of May, see if you can fill in the missing information for the following (answers below):

1. Approximately 1 in 4 Americans over the age of 18 suffers _____ in a given year.
2. Roughly 18% of Americans ages 18-54 have _____ each year.
3. On average, 11! years is the delay between _____ and _____.

Mental Health...Read more...

Dear Members of Temple Sinai,

After more than thirteen months of restricted physical access to Temple Sinai, I am thrilled to share that we are finally able to introduce plans for reopening! I hope you have participated in the countless opportunities for virtual worship,...Read more...

Were we living attuned to Jewish time, we would be aware that we are living the weeks of the “yoms,” identified as such because we have three Jewish sacred days in a row: Yom HaShoah, where we commemorate the Holocaust and mourn for the victims; Yom HaZikaron, where we recognize those who lost their lives either by defending Israel during a war or as the victim of an act of terror, and Yom HaAtzmaut, Israel’s Day of...Read more...

During this stretch of time between Pesach and Shavuot, we engage in counting the seven weeks, day by day in a ritual called Counting the Omer. During the Omer it is traditional to turn inward and work on sharpening our personal character traits called middot. These weeks mirror our ancestors’ time in the desert making their way from the Red Sea to Mount Sinai where they received the gift of Torah. Our Spirituality committee has prepared...Read more...

Having just marked the one-year point of dealing with Covid here in Atlanta, our thoughts naturally turn to that significant point and how we have adapted over this past year. It should not be lost on us, however, that this weekend marks another significant turning point: the anniversary of our first Jewish holiday experienced exclusively in the days of Covid.

I recall our concerns last year: plans had to be changed, people who...Read more...

On Saturday evening we will enter the Hebrew month of Nissan, which in the Jewish calendar, is the first month. All mentions of other holidays and observances are measured in terms of how many months or weeks from the month of Nissan they occur. How did the month of Nissan become the first month and what might be its significance?

Two weeks before the Exodus from Egypt, God showed Moses the crescent moon and instructed him regarding...Read more...

I recall the conversations from a year ago. We had just heard, a few weeks prior, about the coronavirus, though at that time it didn’t look that serious to us here in Atlanta. So, we went about planning and preparing as we always do, keeping the experience of our congregants front and center. After all, Purim was on the horizon, and we had already invested a lot of energy and creativity into the megillah reading and the carnival. Helmed by...Read more...

It was asked to a number of us a few months ago by someone doing research, what prayer we found most important. I along with many others answered, the Sh’ma. Our faith in one God is defined by the 6-word statement, “Hear, O Israel, Adonai is our God, Adonai is one.” And yet this prayer that is about wholeness, completeness and oneness, kind of sounds exclusive in its command….HEAR. If one cannot hear, can they be...Read more...