A Message from Andrew Altman, KI President (February 2025)

Dear KI Congregants and Community: So much is happening in our country, it can be disorienting. Through all of the noise, one trend keeps gnawing at my attention. For several months, we’ve witnessed in real time the trans and immigrant communities being targeted and scapegoated as the sources and symbols of what’s wrong with America. We’ve all studied history...

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Truth to Power

Friends, we are living in a moment that feels at once surreal and horrifying. Israel remains locked in a place of uncertainty, the status of hostages still an unknown. The President suggests that Gaza be emptied of its residents, shipped off to neighboring countries. He says with no irony or...

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Let My People Go

In this week’s Torah portion, Moses demands that Pharaoh ‘let my people go.’ It is an iconic moment of bravery and conviction. He speaks truth to power, urging the tyrannical leader to denounce his hateful actions and finally release the Israelites from bondage. Pharaoh has brought havoc, pain and immeasurable...

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We are in this Together

Over the last many months, with the help of our own Lee Slobotkin, I have been filming short videos to create an online library of Jewish information. These videos are designed to bring Jewish life to YOU in a new way. The videos range in content, touching on holidays, Jewish...

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Sharing Our Blessings

This week’s Torah portion, Vayechi, reminds us that blessings are often buried in places we don’t always think to look. Jacob, at the end of his life, gathers his family to share words of blessing. Within these words, we find hopes for the future along with prayers for peace. One of...

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To a Good Year

A new year comes and it brings the promise of a fresh start. In Judaism, we mark new beginnings with fanfare and joy. Think of Consecration, which marks the beginning of a student’s Jewish learning. Think of a Bar or Bat Mitzvah, marking the beginning of young adulthood. Think of...

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Season of Miracles

In this season of miracles, I am so thankful for the miracles in my life, the life of our synagogue and in the Jewish story itself. Let’s say it clearly: Our being here was never inevitable. Each one of us lives only because of the countless miracles that enabled our...

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