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A Month of Receiving We are in the counting. Every night between Pesach and Shavuot, Jews around the world count a number aloud, marking the journey from Egypt to Sinai. The counting tells us something true about Jewish life: freedom by itself is incomplete. We leave Mitzrayim so that we can stand at Sinai, and we stand at Sinai so that we can receive. May at Temple Beth Sholom is shaped by that arc of receiving. On Thursday, May 21, we will gather for an evening of Shavuot

At sundown on Tuesday, Israel observed Yom HaZikaron, the day for the fallen. A siren sounded across the country and everyone stopped. Cars on the highway. Shoppers in the supermarket. For two minutes, a country mourned together. And then, before the grief could settle, the day ended. Memorial Day became Independence Day. The flags went up. The parties began. This is not how grief works here. In America, our Memorial Day and Independence Day celebrations couldn’t be less dir

On January 10th of this year, a 19-year-old man drove to Jackson, Mississippi in the middle of the night, removed his license plates, broke a window, poured gasoline across the floors of a synagogue, and lit it on fire. He called the building the "synagogue of Satan." When he confessed to his father, he said he had "finally got them." He was talking about Jews. He was talking about us. Beth Israel Congregation is a Reform synagogue. It is the only synagogue in Mississippi's c

Purim, Pesach, and Packing When I was in my first year of rabbinical school at Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion in Jerusalem , this time of year felt like the crest of a roller coaster just before the big drop. We were taught a phrase for it: Purim, Pesach, and Packing. Purim would arrive first, loud and irreverent, costumes everywhere, Megillot read aloud in public, Jerusalem briefly surrendering to joyful chaos. You’d barely finish shaking the last grogge

“In Honor of Shabbat, In Honor of Each Other” Beginning Friday, November 7, Temple Beth Sholom will begin our Erev Shabbat services at 6:30 pm. This new start time will continue through at least Passover, and we hope it becomes a rhythm that sustains us—not just in scheduling, but in spirit. Over the past few years, we have tried several different times for our Friday night services. Some of that was pandemic adaptation, some of its seasonal practicality, and some of it a res

The days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are the most spiritually demanding stretch of the Jewish year. It’s not a time for...

In Pirkei Avot, Rabbi Tarfon teaches: “The day is short, the work is great, the laborers are idle, the reward is much, and the Master of...

On the penultimate day in May, Temple Beth Sholom will come together to celebrate Confirmation—our moment to honor young people who step...