Langston Hughes wrote: ‘I, too, sing America. I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen when company comes, but I laugh, and eat well, and grow strong… I, too, am America.’ It was 1926 when he published the iconic poem. America was a different place...
A large KI group spent four days in the south this past weekend, exploring the history of the civil rights movement. Our feet stood on hallowed ground: the spot where Rosa Parks boarded the bus for her fateful ride, the site where the 55-mile Selma to Montgomery march ended, the...
We are in the middle of the most dramatic, most pivotal, most intense, most action filled, and most consequential Torah portions in the Torah! The portion of Bo is the third section in the book of Exodus. We learn about the eighth, ninth, tenth and final plagues that the Almighty...
On January 14th, 2024, Keneseth Israel along with St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Glenside sponsored The 5th Annual MLK Day of Learning, organized by EMIC (Eastern Montco Interfaith Coalition). EMIC is an interfaith affinity group whose leaders include Arlene B. Holtz and Barbara McNeil of KI. The Program, which took...
In the beginning of this week’s Torah portion, Vaera, we have doubts about ever being freed from the bondage of Egypt, and God reassures us by telling Moses: “Say to the Israelite people: I am Adonai, I will free you from the labors of the Egyptians and deliver you from...
What name will you make for yourself this year? After all, each of us carries multiple names. To some we are ‘mom’ or ‘dad’ perhaps. Perhaps we are ‘grandma,’ ‘grandpa,’ ‘saba,’ ‘nana.’ We are aunts and uncles, brothers and sisters. We have professional names and nicknames. We are known one...
Dear Friends: We have been grieving since October 7. As Israel seeks to defend itself from terror, we watch from afar, praying for a peaceful resolution, hurting as we learn of the loss of life. We pray for the wellbeing of those taken captive, the young and the innocent whose...
I spent last weekend with 800 of our fellow Reform Jews in Washington D.C. I was there to take part in celebrating 150 years of the Union for Reform Judaism, originally the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. In attendance were the leaders of our movement, prominent speakers, authors and teachers....
Parashat MIketz-Joseph, Lighting the Hanukkah Candles for The Eighth Night, and Candles as a Symbol of Shalom Bayit/Family Peace In our Torah reading cycle, we are in the middle of the Joseph stories in the Book of Bereshit/Genesis. Joseph, the son of the Jacob, the third Jewish patriarch, has been...
I am wishing all of you a very Happy Hanukkah! As we light the first candle tonight, I pray that the lights bring brightness to your lives and remind you of the strength of our people in times of darkness. Lately, we’ve been walking the path of the Maccabees, a...
