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Rabbinic Transition at Congregation B’nai Israel

02/24/2023 01:58:10 PM

Feb24

Dear Friends, We are writing with important community news to share. After 21 years as the Rabbi of Congregation B’nai Israel, Rabbi Justin David has accepted the position of Dean of the Rabbinical School at Hebrew College, to begin on July 1, 2023. While we are excited for Rabbi David, we will miss his extraordinary leadership at CBI. The CBI leadership team is here to support our community...Read more...

PLEASE HELP OUR NEIGHBORS WITH DONATED ITEMS

11/04/2022 12:46:00 PM

Nov4

Pamela Schwartz

HAITIAN ASYLUM SEEKERS IN THE VALLEY NEED ESSENTIALS AND WARM CLOTHING AND MANNA GUESTS NEED WARM COATS

In partnership with Jewish Family Service
Jewish Family Service (JFS) has brought to our attention that recently arrived Haitian families are living in hotels and overcrowded apartments in the Valley. Because they are not considered "refugees" by the US government, they are not eligible for many benefits. JFS is providing...Read more...

Announcing CHALLAH: New classes for teens 8th - 11th grade!

09/09/2022 11:33:07 AM

Sep9

We are very excited to announce that enrollment is now open for our brand new teen education program called CHALLAH! At no point in recent history has CBI held regular, ongoing classes for teens beyond the b'nai mitzvah age, and we are glad that we can now provide those in grades 8th - 11th an opportunity to sink...Read more...

Work begins at the new building! 

09/07/2022 03:05:55 PM

Sep7

[Photo credit: Shana Surek]

We are excited to announce that renovations are underway at the newest addition to the CBI campus: 237 Prospect St., former home to the city water department and therefore known by some as the "Mayim Building" (Hebrew for...Read more...

Thanks for a great discussion about the future of our campus!

06/10/2022 12:39:53 PM

Jun10

[Photo: Architect Maryann Thompson and director at large, building committee member and former co-president Max Page facilitate a group discussion]

A big thanks to everyone who came out for the recent community discussion! Following the Abundance Farm Spring Work Day, we met with architect Maryann Thompson to learn more about...Read more...

So, what's happening with the new building? 

05/02/2022 01:08:49 PM

May2

Hello! Wondering what's going with our new building at 237 Prospect Street? Read on!

Quick recap: Last year, CBI acquired what was once an administrative building for the city's water department, which is why you may hear it called “the water building” or “the mayim building.” If you haven't seen it, it's...Read more...

For Immediate Release: Rabbi Ariella Rosen to join CBI as new Director of Youth and Family Education and Engagement (DYFEE)

03/17/2022 11:44:57 AM

Mar17

Dear CBI Community, 

We are thrilled to share that Rabbi Ariella Rosen will be joining the Congregation B’nai Israel community as our new Director of Youth and Family Education and Engagement (DYFEE) on June 1, 2022.

After a thorough six-month search process, led by a search committee whose members ranged in age from thirteen to seventy, Rabbi Rosen emerged as the standout leader. Her deep and...Read more...

Juneteenth Kabbalat Shabbat Tonight, Talmud Tomorrow In Person

06/18/2021 01:12:20 PM

Jun18

Dear Chevre,

This Shabbat coincides with Juneteenth, which as you know has been signed into law by President Biden as a federal holiday, marking a collective commemoration and celebration for the end of slavery.   Be’chol Lashon, a national organization raising awareness of Jews of Color, is holding a virtual Juneteenth Kabbalat Shabbat today at 5 PM, EST, and we are encouraging people to join this...Read more...

From Rabbi David - Response to Recent Anti-Semitism

05/28/2021 02:56:50 PM

May28

Dear Friends,

The recent anti-Semitic attacks and other incidents reported nationally arouse grave concern and prompt us to ask a number of critical questions about ourselves and our engagement as a Jewish community.  For each of us in different ways, such events may strike us either as unexpected or alternatively as familiar, but nevertheless they are shocking.  Looking to lessons learned over the past several years, I...Read more...

From Rabbi David - Gathering for Shavuot and Shabbat

05/13/2021 03:14:37 PM

May13

Dear Friends,

As we prepare to greet Shavuot, I am thinking of the poetic expression of the Torah’s injunction to count 49 days before Shavuot as seven “complete” weeks.  The completeness, or wholeness conveyed by this verse is intentional, and is emphasized further as the Torah enjoins us to count 7 days each week for 7 weeks, evoking the creation of the universe, expressed in the weekly celebration of...Read more...

From Rabbi Justin David: Letter Regarding Events in the Middle East

05/11/2021 11:10:49 PM

May11

“Sha’alu Shalom Yerushalayim, Seek the Peace of Jerusalem…”

Psalms, 123: 6

 

Dear Friends,

 

My most basic, human response to the violence in Jerusalem, in Gaza, and numerous cities within Israel  is heartbreak.  In the face of lives lost, pervasive fear, dreams broken and rage unleashed, a...Read more...

From Rabbi David: Supporting Irida

03/31/2021 09:44:04 PM

Mar31

Dear Friends, 

 

In the midst of Passover, we hope that the connections you were able to make and the discussions you were able to have at your seders turned your attention to how we bring healing to the world and make z'man cherutenu, the Season of our Freedom, a daily practice and living reality. 

 

Today we learned that after nearly three years since Irida Kakhtiranova sought and received sanctuary at...Read more...

From Rabbi David: Study the Torah of Reparations

03/31/2021 11:00:14 AM

Mar31

Dear Friends,

 

I am very excited to share that I will be teaching a 5-session series on Reparations and Jewish Tradition, Sundays at 10:00 AM, April 11 - May 9.  

 

These sessions will explore the sources that people are look to for guidance in response to the call from the Black community and communities of color generally to compensate victims of slavery and systemic racism in our society.  Drawing on...Read more...

From Rabbi David - Passover Resources for You

03/18/2021 06:36:35 PM

Mar18

Dear Friends,

Here we are, in the first week of Nisan, and so it’s time to take those first steps toward Z’man Cherutenu, the Season of Liberation.  I hope by now you have seen our set of programs for Passover, including pre-Seder workshops as well as a range of programming on and around the days of Passover.  This letter is more about preparing, with some resources to help you set the stage for this deeply meaningful...Read more...

From Rabbi David - Stop Asian Hate

03/17/2021 06:17:35 PM

Mar17

Rabbi Justin David

Dear Friends,

I know you join me in the sense of horror over the murders in Atlanta that left 8 people dead, 6 of whom were of Asian descent.  If you have read about this tragedy, you have also read how this incident reflects an alarming rise against Asian-Americans generally.

According to Stop AAPI Hate, there have been nearly 3800 incidents against Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders in the past year. ...Read more...

From Rabbi David - Thoughts on Sacred and Enduring Justice

01/07/2021 03:32:29 PM

Jan7

Dear Friends,

This morning, I was moved by a Facebook post by Sheryl Gay Stolberg, a longtime Washington correspondent for the Times, who spoke of yesterday’s violence as trampling on the “sacred space” of our Capitol.  Stolberg didn’t specify how or why the Capitol is sacred, but she enumerated her closeness to the grandeur of the building itself, the dramatic moments she has spent there, and perhaps most...Read more...

From Rabbi David - Supporting Martin Luther King Community Presbyterian Church

12/29/2020 04:25:51 PM

Dec29

Dear Friends,

By now, you may have heard of the devastating fire at the Martin Luther King Community Presbyterian Church in Springfield.  The church is a predominantly Black church, and the fire is being investigated by city, state and federal agencies.  According to several news reports, it has not yet been determined whether this fire was an act of arson or a hate crime.

I have reached out to the church directly as well as...Read more...

From Rabbi David - Study Economic Inequality in the Bible with Professor Joel Kaminsky

12/16/2020 04:42:33 PM

Dec16

Dear Friends,

I am very excited that Professor Joel Kaminsky will teach a 4-session series beginning January 12 on Wealth and Poverty in the Hebrew Bible.  This mini-course will focus on both legal and prophetic texts that explore the creation of wealth, inequities between rich and poor and visions of a just society.  Joel is the Morningstar Professor of Bible at Smith College, and as anyone who has taken his courses will tell you,...Read more...

From Rabbi David - Talmud Text for Shabbat Study - Tamar's Revelation and Hanukkah

12/11/2020 03:33:29 PM

Dec11

Shalom Friends,

Here is the link to tomorrow's Talmud study.  Tomorrow is Hanukkah, so in addition to our usual morning prayers beginning at 9:30, we'll also chant Hallel as part of the holiday.  That means our study will begin a little bit later - closer to 10:15 than our usual 10:00.

Also, I apologize for no video d'var Torah...yet!  Hopefully, I'll be able to record and send something after Shabbat.

Finally,...Read more...

From Rabbi David - Thoughts on Hanukkah and Community

12/10/2020 01:07:59 PM

Dec10

Dear Friends,

This year, I am thinking about how Hanukkah reckons with the past to guide us toward a future shaped by our yearnings for justice, wonder, and the depth of human connection.

It seems that the Rabbis knew that the original story of Hanukkah was too fraught to stand on its own as the foundation for a sacred and celebratory holiday. The triumph of the Maccabees in the original text in the Aprocrypha, while...Read more...

Tue, March 28 2023 6 Nisan 5783