Latkes & Turkey: “Thanksgivukkah” 25th of Kislev & 28th of November
by Rabbi David J. Cooper Some say it won’t happen again for thousands of years—that the first light of Chanukah is on the evening before Thanksgiving. I’m not totally sure about that, but here is why they coincide this year. Simply put, this is the latest that Thanksgiving can start and the earliest that Chanukah […]
A Sermon for Kol Nidre by Rabbi David J. Cooper (High Holydays 5774/2013)
Tzedakah, Right Conduct, and the Face of the Other Unetaneh Tokef, a prayer only said on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur morning is a really scary prayer. I remember almost 30 years ago Rabbi Burt and I preparing for some High Holyday service and talking about the love hate relationship we had with it and […]
Kehilla’s New Associate Rabbi: Rabbi Dev Noily
by Rabbi David J. Cooper When Rabbi Dev Noily started working with us as the Director of Kehilla School, she was honest, and told us that she would work hard at this job, but that it was a job for her, and that Kehilla was not her family’s synagogue community. That satisfied us, because […]
A Community Banding Together to Make High Holydays
How to Make the Effort a Spiritual & Communal Endeavor A Letter from Rabbi David Dear Kehilla Community, For several weeks every late summer and fall, we as a synagogue put on for ourselves a series of extravagant occasions that constitute our communal pilgrimage. This is not a journey to some distant location, […]
Some Thoughts on Israel’s 65th
Some Thoughts on Israel’s 65th by Rabbi David J. Cooper I wanted to share with you some of my thinking as we enter the month that marks the 65th anniversary of the State of Israel. That moment in 1948 was experienced as a tragedy in the lives of the Palestinian Arabs many of whom were […]
Downloadable Kehilla HOME seder
Looking for a good interactive bare-bones haggadah? Kehilla-style? New, improved and FREE! Instructions and suggestions on using the Haggadah The Haggadah in PDF format: http://www.kehillasynagogue.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Home-Haggadah-2013-Heb-Eng.pdf
After the UN Vote: Peace & Punishment
In today’s (Dec 7, 2012) issue of the J Weekly, my guest editorial was printed. I titled it “Peace & Punishment,” but it appears in the website and paper as “Being a Friend to the Jewish state means criticizing wrong-headed actions,” which is not inaccurate. To read the editorial, go to: http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/67205/being-a-friend-to-the-jewish-state/ – Rabbi […]
AURORA LEVINS MORALES A Kehilla Member Facing Medical Crisis
Beloved and long-time Kehilla member, Aurora Levins Morales, has written us about a very difficult medical emergency she is facing which is not covered by insurance. She must raise funds in the thousands as quickly as possible to meet this need. Many of you are familiar with Aurora through her writings and books on […]
Regarding the Violence in Israel & Gaza
November 16, 2012 Dear Kehilla folks, Just a note to share with you my thoughts in this moment of the hostilities in Israel and Gaza. I find myself immensely sad for several reasons. I am distressed because the idea of killing, especially civilian non-combatants and children whether Israeli or Palestinian, is abhorrent to me, whether […]
