In two weeks we will gather on May 28th (virtually of course) to celebrate Shavuot, our festival in which we received the Torah at Mt. Sinai. We picture the entire Israelite community standing at the base of the mountain in complete chaos and fear “…
Read MoreEven though we have not been in our sanctuary and chapel for some time, there is one light that is always shining because it has no switch – our ner tamid, eternal light. We place this light in front of our ark in ornate candelabras to fulfill the commandment in Leviticus that we should “lahalot ner tamid, kindle lamps regularly.”
Read MoreThis week I encourage you to consider how we might begin to fulfill the needs of those in our greater New Haven community who we might not know so well. Like many of you, I was shocked to see the lines outside of the Hamden food pantry and to read that they ran out of food –
Read MoreAs Rav Kook teaches us above, Jewish customs and traditions are ever evolving and we always look to the past in order to create a vision for the future. Reading our Torah portion this week, Tazria-Metzora, I discovered newfound empathy as the Priest determined that when someone is afflicted with an illness they would be isolated from the community in their homes for a minimum of seven days.
Read MoreWe have made it through the sea and back onto dry land, leavened bread in hand! Thank you for a wonderful community seder on Thursday night. Seeing so many smiling faces gathered around your seder tables filled me and Cantor Giglio with joy.
Read MoreAs we gather around our tables and screens next week for Passover we will think about the meaning of all of the items on our seder plate - the Matzo, the roasted egg, the maror
Read MoreLast week we concluded the book of Exodus, having retold the Israelite's journey from bondage in Egypt to becoming a free people bound together by the covenant at Mt. Sinai. We'll tell this story again on Passover in just two weeks on April 8th. As we shelter-in-place to protect ourselves
Read MoreThis past week has been a whirlwind and I am so grateful for the support of our leadership, professional team, and all of you for working hard to maintain our community connections. We had so many virtual opportunities to lift up our spirits:…
Read MoreAs we continue to confront the challenges presented by the coronavirus, we have been following the recommendations from the CDC, state and local governments. With that in mind we have made the difficult decision to temporarily suspend our CMI activities at this time. Effective immediately in-person worship, religious school, classes and our nursery school are suspended. Our offices will remain open at this time.
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