Month: October 2020

by Toby Rosenberg, congregant Throughout this entire growing season, the garden committee and volunteers have continued to look after Bet Ha’am’s garden and grounds. Caring for our beloved home, even though we could not access the building, helped each of us feel connected and anchored as we kept Bet Ha’am looking tended. In working our … Read more

By Catherine Share, congregant My ex-partner and I came to Maine in 2006 with our adopted daughter. I was not Jewish, but Cindy was, and we had decided to raise our daughter as a Jew. We joined Bet Ha’am because, as a lesbian interfaith couple, we felt the Reform tradition would be the most accepting. … Read more

by President Lynn Urbach Upcoming sabbatical Gardeners and farmers know that giving land a year off is of great benefit to the soil. Letting the land rest allows it to replenish itself; it reduces pests; and it improves water retention, thereby improving future growth. This method of renewal has been practiced since ancient times. In … Read more

by Rabbi Jared H. Saks In the Talmud (Shabbat 21b), the Gemara asks, “What is Chanukah?” which honestly sounds like a strange question for the Sages to have asked. I mean, don’t they already know what Chanukah is? Of course they do, but that’s not really the point of their asking the question. Their motive … Read more

by Sam Spinrad, Education Director When I attended elementary school in the 1990s, I studied Torah stories with my father. I enjoyed the scripture battles and family drama stories, and had many questions. Did this story really happen? Why would this matriarch make this certain decision? Being a humble and honest educator, my father never … Read more

by Rachel Lefkowitz, Synagogue Administrator “I am troubled by the scarf that arrived in yesterday’s mail with a suggestion that it could be used as a mask and with $4.20 in postage: that’s a lot of money for something that is too loosely woven to make a good face covering. I would have hoped for … Read more

Have you noticed that we haven’t been lighting Shabbat candles at our services on Zoom? In part, it’s because Shabbat and holiday candle lighting are traditionally a home ritual, not a congregational ritual. The Shabbat song Shalom Aleichem is rooted in a text from the Talmud (BT Shabbat 119b) that says that two angels join us in … Read more

by Catherine Share, congregant This past Sunday, 23 Tishrei, Simchat Torah, I completed my second cycle of a daily meditation on Psalm 27 that I had started on 1 Elul. My first cycle was in 5780 (last year) and I mentioned in a previous blog post how challenging that first round was for me. With … Read more

by Rabbi Jared H. Saks Yom Kippur 5781 When the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidism, saw that the Jewish people were threatened by tragedy, he would go to a particular place in the forest where he would light a fire, recite a particular prayer, and ask for a miracle to save his people … Read more

by Rabbi Jared H. Saks Kol Nidre 5781 Perhaps you know the story of Korach. Korach was a Kohathite of the tribe of Levi. While the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness on their way to the Promised Land, Korach, along with Dathan and Abiram, assembled a band of 250 protestors and challenged the leadership … Read more