Rabbi's Message

Happy Tu B’Shevat!  Yes, today is the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shevat, which means it is the holiday of Tu B’Shevat.  Tu B’Shevat is the new year, or birthday, of the trees.  Today we celebrate the gift of nature, the beauty of our natural world, and our responsibility to protect it.  Tu B’Shevat can also be understood through the realm of metaphor.  In this light, Tu B’Shevat is not only a perfect...Read more...

Last Shabbat, we began reading the book of Shemot, Exodus.  This second book of the Torah tells the foundational story of our people; the Israelites’ journey from oppression to freedom. How appropriate to continue reading the Book of Exodus this...Read more...

What do we do when we finish a book of the Torah? We rise and call out, “hazak hazak v’nithazek be strong, be strong, and may we strengthen one another.” We will recite this line at shul this Shabbat morning as we conclude the book of Bereshit (Genesis) and prepare to turn to the book of Shemot.  How appropriate that we will say this line specifically on Hazak Shabbat where members Hazak will lead the service. I hope you will join...Read more...

Tonight, as we begin the eighth and final day of Hanukkah our Hanukiyot will be fully illuminated.  Did you know that the last day of Hanukkah has a special name in Hebrew: Zot Hanukkah?  It literally means “this is Hanukkah.” But what is the significance of this name, and in particular, the word, “zot?”

The Torah introduces the laws of Yom Kippur with these words:

“And God said to Moses: Speak to your...Read more...

Tonight begins the holiday of Hanukkah.  Last Sunday, at our Sisterhood’s Torah Fund Brunch, Rabbi Joel Seltzer referenced a halakhah of Hanukkah that caught my attention. He pointed out that normally we put our hanukkiyot , our Hanukkah...Read more...

Tuesday was a powerful day. On Tuesday, Rabbi Peltz, Rabbi Lindemann, Cantor Cohen, Alex Weinberg, and many of our community joined our 450+ person South Jersey delegation to The March for Israel in Washington DC, the largest rally of Jewish people in modern history.

Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with more than 290,000 people, together we marched for our brothers and sisters in Israel. We marched for the safe return of the...Read more...

First, I want to again say thank you.  This past Sunday evening was beyond special as I was honored at TBS’ Evening of Tribute. It was truly humbling to be honored with Bonnie Friedman and Milt and Emily Gottschalk, three pillars of our TBS community who are beyond worthy of every accolade and honor.  I was also deeply touched (in case you couldn’t tell by the happy tears…) by the outpouring of love, kindness, and support from...Read more...

Our first couple of Torah portions in the book of Genesis teach us about the importance and the power of words.  God creates the world with words teaching us that we our words too can build up or tear down.  Then there is Noah.  When God tells Noah that the world will be destroyed via flood, Noah is silent. Commentators over the ages have been puzzled by Noah’s silence. But his silence is precisely the point. Nearly the...Read more...

Join us at Temple Beth Sholom on Tuesday, October 10 (Doors open at 6:30pm, program begins promptly at 7) for an Israel Solidarity Gathering with the South Jersey Jewish Community hosted by The Jewish Federation of Southern New Jersey. For more information, click here.

Dear TBS Family,
 
On Kol Nidre, Rabbi Lindemann spoke about the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War. He posed a question: does the future follow the...Read more...

What an incredibly meaningful, inspiring, and uplifting Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.  It is so wonderful to have the whole TBS mishpaha (family) together in our sanctuary, our tent, and our classrooms, as well as on the live stream.  I hope that, over the course of the holidays you found meaning in the words of our prayers, the commentary in our mahzorim and offered from the bima, Cantor Cohen’s beautiful melodies, and Makhelat...Read more...

Wow!  My family and I are still feeling the love from an incredible weekend celebrating our son's Bar Mitzvah.  We are so proud of the wonderful job he did, and so grateful to our family, friends, and community for adding to our joy by being with us for Shabbat.  Our experience this past weekend has made the first verse of our Torah reading for this Shabbat, Nitzavim, even more powerful.  It begins Atem Nitzavim HaYom...Read more...

This week’s Torah portion, Ki Teitzei, contains more commandments than any other portion in the Torah. One common theme among them is the centrality of treating all people with dignity and respect. But it is not only human beings who must be treated in this way.  Animals too are deserving of kindness and respect.

One example of this is the teaching from Deuteronomy 22:4: “If you see your fellow Israelite’s donkey or ox...Read more...

The Book of Deuteronomy is more auditory than visual. The Hebrew name of the book, Devarim, can be translated as “words” or “sayings.” Moses delivers poetry and memoir; encouragement and criticism.  Not originally a confident public speaker, now Moses offers a masterful verbal performance as nearly the entire book is comprised of a speech he gives to b’nai Yisrael. He uses every tool he can to get the people to listen, now and...Read more...

It was my honor to be invited to join Congressman Donald Norcross for President Isaac Herzog's historic address to a joint session of Congress. Congressman Norcross is a strong supporter of Israel and a true friend to our Jewish community. I am very grateful for the very meaningful experience we shared and for his very graciously hosting me in his office for a discussion following...Read more...

Shalom from Jerusalem!  I write this after just returning from a concert featuring Tzachi HaLevy, the star of Netflix’s Fauda. I can say that not only is he a good actor, his stories and songs were pretty good too! This concert was part of the Rabbinic Torah Seminar I have been participating in at the Hartman Institute these past 10 days. The topic this year is “The Choosing People,” and together with excellent...Read more...