Family Fun on Tu B’Shvat
On Sunday, January 23, nearly 40 first-grade families came together in our Temple’s Social Hall to learn about and celebrate the holiday of Tu B’Shvat. Parents and children together first learned from Rachel Ackerman, one of our temple’s rabbinic interns, about the meaning of the word Tu B’Shvat and of course, what we celebrate on [...]
A Superstar Just Like Us
My most memorable experience with Debbie was at Hava Nashira, the Reform songleaders gathering at OSRUI. She was both a superstar and a simple, easy-going participant.
“You’re wonderful, you know that?”
Next Thursday I am assigned to lead services at the Hebrew Union College with Cantor Kent and with Rabbi Dan Medwin. We have planned all along to do a “visual tefillah” shacharit (morning service) also observing Tu B’Shvat. Our conversations about services have changed over the past few days. This is the first week we are back in school, and [...]
Make the Songs Your Own
Debbie’s music provided the soundtrack for much of my adolescence—my summers at camp and my years as a member of our synagogue’s youth group. When I had the privilege of working with her for a week at the URJ Kallah in Santa Cruz, I truly gained insight into her genius and her creative process. I [...]
Shakshuka!
This week, some of the Tiyul: Shabbat B’yachad students made shakshuka, a tomato and egg dish originally introduced to Israel by Tunisian Jews. Now, it’s a common Israeli dish for any time of day. Here’s the recipe and some photos.
Make Music Magical
On January 11, Kaskeset (Binghamton University’s Jewish a cappella group) performed for our religious school students. Debbie’s funeral had been earlier in the day. In tribute, the group performed Debbie’s “T’filat HaDerech.” Their performance speaks for itself:
Don’t Take Yourself Too Seriously
In his eulogy for Debbie Friedman, Rabbi Stuart Kelman implored us to honor her memory by telling one of her stories or sharing something she taught us every day for the next 30 days. As a result, we’ve asked members of our religious school community to do just that here on our Religious School Blog. [...]
Memories of Debbie
Debbie Friedman, the songstress laureate of American Jewry (and the Reform movement in particular), passed away on Sunday, January 9. Her untimely death has had a powerful impact on many of us at Temple Isaiah, including members of our clergy, school staff, and teaching staff, all of whom were touched and inspired by Debbie. In [...]
Debbie’s Influence
Debbie Friedman’s impact on the world will last long after she is gone. Her music changed Reform Judaism and helped to give it the vibrancy we appreciate today. Whether it was indirectly or directly, Debbie taught me how to pray. As a child, I remember Shabbat services as performative and going back to the roots [...]
From the Director’s Desk: Creative Adaptation
Tu B’shvat, the Jewish holiday which falls later this month, was invented by our ancient rabbis as a “birthday” for trees. If you’re a Jewish farmer trying to follow the biblical rules that require you to only harvest from trees of a certain age, it would be impractical to keep track of the exact birthdays [...]
