On March 14th of last year, my brother Steve Mendelson died after a short bout of renal cancer. Steve was the middle brother of what my father lovingly referred to as My Three Sons, which, for those of you too young to remember, was a television show in the 1960s....
November 9, 2024 D’var by JRC member Vickie Korey Lech Lecha is the third parsha in the book of Genesis. In the beginning, there is Creation. The first through seventh days and nights are created. The Sabbath is designated, man and woman are created, sins are noted,...
Shabbat Shalom! This week’s Torah portion, Eikev, is the third section of the Book of Deuteronomy, where Moses continues his second farewell address to the Israelites and urges them to observe even what appear to be minor commandments. Moses then continues his review...
The defining structure of this parsha is repetition. We have encountered everything in this parsha, more than once. As if someone is either phoning it in, being paid by the word, or are afraid the message was lost in translation. Considering how many times the...
August 16, 2024 D’var by Betsy Fuchs My family and I were members of Temple Beth Israel in Chicago when I turned 13 years old long ago in 1957. At that time Beth Israel was one of the few Jewish congregations that had Bas Mitzvahs for girls. However, the...
August 9, 2024 D’var by Susan Stone How many of us have schmoozed with a friend about a recent vacation? WE tell the highlights… the ups and downs…The disappointing parts..getting lost, grouchy tourists…museums closed when you arrive, etc. …. and the...
