I’m writing to you from Israel, in the Dan Panorama hotel, on Keren Hayesod Street in Jerusalem. Our group spent the day walking along alleyways paved with Jerusalem stone. We tasted strawberries and halva from the Shuk, the main Jerusalem open market. No doubt, the produce came from fields up north and down south. We said a Bracha and tasted these full bodied flavors. I thought I knew what a tomato tasted like until I came to Israel.
Our tradition has laws pertaining to how to farm the land in Israel. It tells us how to grow tasty tomatoes. In fact, there are certain mitzvot that you can only fulfill in the Holy Land. Our portion this week, Mishpatim, details these laws between people-to-people and laws between people to the land.
I find it fascinating that the Torah that I love so much can only be fully experienced by going to Israel. The word here is experience. So much of our tradition is reading, reciting, and learning.
There is a whole aspect of being Jewish that is simply experiencing and feeling what it is to walk in the footsteps of Abraham and witness a burgeoning country where the old and new flourish together.
If one is searching for understanding and seeking who they are, Israel is an incredible place to delve into those questions. Somehow I know myself better here and I come back holding on to a newly discovered sense of self.
I encourage you to come with us the next time we offer a trip. You will walk pathways and see sites and meet people you never would have expected. Most importantly, you will experience yourself and your Judaism in a new way, a way that embodies more of the Mishpatim, the principles of our people.
Please write to me if there is an inkling of interest in coming to Israel as part of a trip in the next couple of years. Whether it is for a Bar/Bat Mitzvah, to renew vows, or to experience what your kids get free on Birthright, we always discover something new.
Shabbat shalom umevorach, Rabbi Bernstein
SERVICES
Friday, February 21 - Friday, February 28
Friday 6:30 PM Kabbalat Shabbat Service
Saturday 9:00 AM Nosh and D'rash 9:45 AM Shabbat Service
Sunday
9:00 AM Minyan
Monday 6:30 AM Minyan 8:00 PM Minyan requested by Mitchell Gaines
Tuesday 8:00 PM Minyan requested by Mitchell Gaines
Thursday 8:00 AM Minyan (requested Phyllis Berger and Eric Berger)
Friday 8:00 PM Kabbalat Shabbat Service
Click on the links below to register for any of these programs
Don't forget to purchase your Shalach Manot baskets. All orders must be in by Friday, February 28, 2020
Our Alix Rubinger Kosher Food Pantry needs increased membership contributions as well as ideas for other sources of income. We are now serving 15 to 20 families per week. While a lot of food is contributed to our pantry from supermarkets and other synagogues, it is still necessary to purchase needed food items.
Checks can be made out to the Alix Rubinger Kosher Food Pantry or made out to CBO with an indication that the funds go to the pantry account.
Please remember that this is OUR Pantry.
Thank you.
As a member of CBO, you have a Shul Cloud Account within our Website. Your login is your email (the email you use to receive this email). If you don't know your login password, you can reset it HERE Why do I need to login? By clicking on "My Account." You can view and update your information on your account.
Click on "Edit my profile"
Make sure that the information is your profile is correct, e.g. your Hebrew name and birthday, work and contact information.
Add your family members and/or make sure that their information is correct.
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Affiliated with United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism