People in the Reform movement have been talking a lot lately about inclusion, with a particular focus right now on disabilities. ( rant alert: lots of Kool Aid, not much common sense )

I've written before about the alternate service my congregation has on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, the Ruach service. It's very much in the style of our Shabbat minyan -- musical, participatory, full of spirit, and way more traditional than the Reform norm. Originally my rabbi led this service, though a few times he had to leave early (to be at ( Read more... )

( background; some of you may know this already so I'm cutting )

The Reform movement is publishing a new machzor (prayerbook for the high holy days) after several decades. The format is similar to Mishkan T'filah, the new rest-of-year prayerbook that was published a few years ago. Just as MT was intended to replace Gates of Prayer (its predecessor), the new machzor is intended to replace Gates of Repentance ( ( Read more... )

Dear LJ Brain Trust ( Read more... )

I haven't really prepared a "year in review" post, but here are some random notes and thoughts.
On the job front there have been ups and downs but the year ended on an ( Read more... )

Many years ago, when I was starting to become religious, I asked Micha Berger (who would later become a rabbi) how one made sense of the mitzvot -- why were we doing these particular things, how should we understand the purpose of individual mitzvot? He said something to the effect that understanding is over-rated and that if you do something ( Read more... )

Several years ago we added a service for the second day of Rosh Hashana ( Read more... )

Friday night I went to a fellow congregant's home for a monthly shabbat gathering ( about which I've written before). I've been to most of these gatherings though ( Read more... )

Last night was my congregation's annual talent show. (There have been two, so they can now use the word "annual".) There was quite a range of material -- poetry, Yiddish songs, 70s popular music, classical piano music, lots of show tunes, and one religious song (hi). I sang Neshama Carlebach's "Min Hametzar", a song of yearning for God. The ( Read more... )