Our Blog

by Rabbi Saks and the Bet Ha’am Garden Committee Please join us on January 27, 2021 at 7:00 PM.Registration details will be in the Thursday

by Rabbi Jared H. Saks In November 1885, a group of Reform rabbis held a gathering in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that birthed a document that would

by Catherine Share, congregant Here All Along: Finding Meaning, Spirituality and a Deeper Connection to Life-In Judaism, by Sarah Hurwitz Some part of every person’s

By Lynn Urbach, President Every summer when my brother and I were young, my mom would drop us off in Birmingham, Alabama, to stay with

by Rachel Lefkowitz, Synagogue Administrator In early December, I was able to attend the online conference of the National Association of Temple Administrators (NATA). I

by Sam Spinrad, Education Director Looking ahead to 2021, like most people I anticipate the reopening of schools, businesses, and life as we knew it.

This year, on each night of Chanukah, some of our congregants shared written reflections of the holiday. They are gathered here for all to enjoy.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

by Rabbi Jared H. Saks Rosh Hashanah 5781 One of my favorite characters in Jewish literature is Oscar Freedman, or Ozzie, in Philip Roth’s The

by Toby Rosenberg, congregant This is the perfect year to celebrate the holiday of Sukkot at home in your own sukkah (literally, a booth). Have you lately

by Rabbi Jared H. Saks Erev Rosh Hashanah 5781 There’s a famous story from the Talmud[1] – perhaps you’ve heard it – in which Rabbi

by Lynn Urbach, President It’s obvious, I know. Our homes and apartments are different now than they were six months ago or last year at