Among the silver linings of this terrible time through which we have been living has been the opportunity to be part of the CBE community since last March.. I am grateful to Rabbi Timoner for allowing me to share some thoughts with you this Shabbat.
It’s not an accident that Hanukkah encompasses the longest, darkest nights of the year. That’s because it contains the new moon closest to the winter solstice, combining the lunar calendar with the solar calendar for maximum darkness.
What are we doing when we pray?
My guess is that this is a question that many of you have asked yourselves before. Presumably if you’re here this morning, many of you find something within prayer that’s worth drawing you away from other holiday weekend festivities.
Among the clergy at CBE, I am probably the least likely to ask the question: What are we doing when we pray?
Last night was a sad night for a lot of people. Even if you made a full meal and had your family around you, even if you zoomed in with family and friends all around the country or world, few of us were able to gather with the joy and feeling of fullness, with the full mishpacha we would usually enjoy.
Aaron and Sam, I love that you wrote one d’var Torah together. I don’t think we’ve ever had anyone do that before, and it was as if your medium was your message. And your message, about the particular closeness of twins, was a great way to approach a question for all human relationships and really all human existence.
Hannah, I really like how you brought us so many different Rabbinic perspectives on Abraham’s motivations in this parasha. I also think that your idea that Abraham was trying to feel equal to the Hittites is smart and perceptive. I was particularly taken by the idea that Abraham was trying, through his actions, to secure God’s promise that the land would belong to him and his descendants forever.
Norah, you taught us that we are descendants of Abraham, meaning that we live in the tradition and by the example of our first ancestor, who had the courage and temerity to stand up to ultimate power. And that means that living in his lineage obligates us to do so as well. Yes.
I could not agree with you more. This is a week when our society stood up to power. It looks like we have just averted a full scale autocratic attempt. We used the institution of democracy to vote out fascism. Narrowly, yes. But let us remember that fascism and autocracy have toppled governments, distorted minds, and wasted civilizations around the world for generations. Perhaps before 2016 we thought we Americans were immune from the great lure of a strongman, but by 2020 we learned that any society in the midst of profound change and resultant insecurity is vulnerable to populist appeal and compelled by fascism. For those of us who felt disappointed that so many of our fellow Americans seemed to choose cruelty, hatred, white supremacy, patriarchy, regression, and incompetence on Tuesday, let us remember how difficult it is to defeat fascism. We fought a world war over it. Our people perished because of it. It is no small thing. And so far, we are on the path to rejecting and defeating fascism. We still have a long way to go, but this week we came back from the brink.
Let us celebrate the strength of our democracy, all of its weaknesses having been revealed and exploited. Those weaknesses must be addressed in time. Still, we had an election. It was remarkably fair. There was voter intimidation, there were large scale purges of voters from the rolls over the course of the last year, there were lawsuits attempting to prevent voting, the postal service was hobbled and that did prevent some ballots from being counted. But more than 150 million people voted.
And a majority of them cast ballots to unseat a fascist. Tens of thousands of ordinary Americans gave of their time and their resources with extraordinary dedication to register voters who’d been purged, to notify voters about how to navigate the obstacles that had been placed before them, to monitor the polls, to bolster our democracy while it is under threat. Like Abraham, we stood up to power in all of its terrible might and allure.
But let’s not miss the why. Standing up to power is often a good thing to do regardless, but Abraham’s motivation was specific, and it was similar to ours. Abraham was primarily concerned with the sanctity and the preciousness of human life– of every human life. Each life. And that’s why he pushed God to consider the lives God might be ignoring, caught up as God was in anger at the evil of Sodom and Gomorrah. But what about the innocent lives? Abraham asks: “Far be it from You to do such a thing, to bring death upon the innocent as well as the guilty! … Far be it from You! Shall not the judge of all the earth deal justly?!”
Rashi explains that Abraham is saying to God, “it is a profanation of Yourself” “People will say,” Rashi says Abraham is arguing, “that You, God wantonly destroy life, like you did with the flood, that You are insensitive to life, are willing for people to die, that You do not care about the individual, about the minority, that You are willing to sweep away the innocent along with the guilty.” This verse concludes with a rhetorical question: “Shall not the Judge of all the earth practice true justice?”
This raises the question, what is true justice? Ramban argues that Abraham is concerned here that God is not balancing the attribute of justice with the attribute of mercy, by which every life is held and valued. True justice, Abraham is arguing, is a blend of justice and mercy. True justice values every life, sees every life, honors each human being in full dignity, without exception.
And how does Abraham stand up for human life? He calls upon God to count, as we have been asserting that every voice must be heard and every vote must be counted, because every life matters.
Abraham did all of this not knowing if his actions would make a difference. We acted not knowing what impact we’d have. One thing we have learned this week is just how much what we do matters. Out of millions of votes, the margins are in the thousands. We think about people like Stacey Abrams, Tameika Atkins, Helen Butler, Nse Ufot, and Deborah Scott in Georgia, who were difference makers there. I think about our members Adam Barbanel-Fried who started Changing the Conversation Together and has been training and leading teams to do deep canvassing in Pennsylvania for four years. Or Harlene Katzman, who ran a massive nationwide network of attorneys doing election protection. Or Gale Kaufman, who was the Brooklyn office of Reclaim our Vote, registering thousands of voters who’d been purged from the voter rolls throughout the south. And so many more of you. You are nobly upholding the legacy of Abraham.
And this basic principle, that every voice, every vote, every life matters, is the way forward, over the next few months and the next many decades. It means Black Lives Matter. It means protecting women’s lives and bodies. It means we care about immigrants in detention, and children crying for their parents. It means health care is a human right and we do we everything we can to stop the pandemic in its tracks. It means low wage workers, and unemployed people deserve a living wage. It means addressing the chasm between rich and poor that is preventing so many people in this country from feeling like anyone cares about them. It means listening to people who disagree with us in ways we find intolerable, while holding fast to the ending oppression and upholding human dignity.
Julian, you saw something really important in this parasha, beyond what Abraham saw, which is that it’s not only human life that matters, but all life. The entire web of life of our planet, the entire ecosystem of the earth. And that if we go forward only concerned with saving and honoring human life as Abraham did, it will not have been enough. But in the way that we learned this week that our actions matter, in the way that we saw that we can come back from the brink of fascism, we can come back from the brink of ecological devastation and collective destruction.
So together, Norah and Julian, you have taught us on this first Shabbat after the election, that we must create a world together that honors all life. That holds all life to be sacred. That acts with mercy-laden justice. That stands up to all forms of power that would seek to destroy, to exploit, or to dominate.
In the lineage of our ancestors, let us continue to protect and restore our democracy, so that we can your vision real.
Laila and Oliver, I’m so proud of you both. You added your voices to Torah today, becoming our teachers while showing us a new facet of Torah we may never have seen before.
“Most of what we’ll be doing is out and around the Sukkah. Families can bring a blanket, have a picnic, but stay separated from other families, but [they] still have the feeling of community, the opportunity to be outdoors and the opportunity to celebrate the holiday.”
Rabbi Timoner was recently interviewed by NY1 outside the CBE sukkah. Read the full article here.
There once was a man on a journey who came across a beautiful palace, but the palace was on fire. He looked around, trying to find help to put out the blaze. He wondered, surely there must someone who owns this palace, someone who cares for it. This, the rabbis teach in the midrash (Genesis Rabba 39:1), was our ancestor Abraham.
“The main thing that Judaism tells us God believes about us is that no matter what we do and what we’ve done, no matter how we’ve fallen short of that ideal of justice, peace, love and compassion, no matter in what ways we’ve closed our hearts and failed to see how we’re harming others, how we’ve erred, there is endless opportunity for us to turn. God absolutely believes that human beings can endlessly improve ourselves, that there is no end to the learning curve, no limits on our capacity to become righteous.”
Read this powerful interview with Rabbi Timoner by journalist Abigail Pogrebin, originally published in The Forward, as part of her series Still Small Voice.
At a time when progressive Zionists have united in opposition to annexation, Peter Beinart’s provocative essay in Jewish Currents, and his New York Times op-ed, divides allies. Beinart’s contention that a two-state solution is unattainable, and that a binational state provides the only path to achieving a just resolution to the conflict, has challenged the conventional wisdom and ignited a vigorous debate.
Dear CBE Friends,
These are harrowing times. A pandemic, a nationwide cry for justice, fires and destruction, and police and now military deployed by the president to “dominate” our streets.
If you are feeling afraid, despairing, overwhelmed, or uncertain, you are not alone. Your CBE community and clergy are here for you, I am here for you, and our tradition is here for you.
“We felt it was important to create a new voice in New York that focuses on state and local issues, that serves as a central address for liberal Jews whose Jewish values shape their priorities, both with respect to domestic issues and with respect to their support for Israel and their commitment to combating anti-Semitism.”
Rabbi Rachel Timoner shares the mission of the New York Jewish Agenda, which she recently co-founded with several other progressive NYC rabbis, activists, and politicians, in this new article by the Times of Israel.
As part of a series of articles on Judaism and American democracy published by eJewish Philanthropy, Rabbi Timoner wrote the following article on the imperative of Jews and civic engagement especially during this particularly challenging time.
Rabbi Timoner recently signed on to a joint letter sent to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo with over 100 New York City and New York State faith leaders in support of bail reform. Read the full letter below.
Senior Rabbi of CBE Rachel Timoner was recently invited to help deliver the unity prayer at the African-American Clergy & Elected Officials breakfast with Rev. Dr. Robert Waterman of Antioch Baptist Church, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, New York State Attorney General Letitia James, NYC Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams, and many more.
With each passing year, as with each passing day, we pray for peaceful transitions from work, to rest, to renewed wakefulness. This brooding, poignant melody, originally set to the text of Psalm 121 (“I lift my eyes to the mountains…”), brings out our essential human vulnerabilities but also calls us to reaffirm our faith in God’s essential grace and compassion. And it reminds us that no matter how scary the night may seem, we find courage by traveling through it together, as one community.
As the Jewish community emerges from weeks of holidays and enters the month of Marcheshvan, we take comfort in the simple weekly rhythm of Shabbat.
Check out this beautiful article written by our friend Rev. Dr. Daniel Meeter of Old First Reformed Church about his meaningful relationship to Judaism and CBE.
Ki HaMalchut Shel’cha – Friday Nights at CBE: Sounds of Shabbat
At the heart of Rosh Hashanah morning liturgy lies “Aleinu l’shabeiach,” an affirmation of God’s ultimate, singular sovereignty over everything that is.
Read Rabbi Timoner’s review of Rabbi Mike Moskowitz’s recent book, Textual Activism, a collection of essays, articles, and teachings offering a new perspective on Torah, with an emphasis on contemporary issues of justice and inclusion, especially around gender identity.
Forty-four protesters were arrested while demonstrating against Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) cloud contracts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at a New York Amazon Bookstore Sunday evening.
Rabbi Timoner’s article, “Hope for Independence and Peace for All”, is featured on the Union for Reform Judaism’s Ten Minutes of Torah series. In it, she reflects on visiting the village of Sanoor, where every Shabbat a delegation from Physicians for Human Rights Israel comes to the West Bank to offer a mobile medical clinic.
By Larry Rothbart
There were several large takeaways for me from our group trip to Israel. One, which several people have noted in their essays and became the group’s running theme, was that Israel is a complex and complicated puzzle.
By Betty Leigh Hutcheson
Aliza, Our Holocaust Survivor, Addressing the Mission. Photograph by (ret.) Lt. Col. Peter Lerner in April 2011.
Aliza Goldman-Landau buried her cousin’s son the same day she served Shabbat dinner to six members of our tour. She had agreed to be a host for the evening meal after services at Kehillat Mevasseret, a reform synagogue in a Jerusalem suburb. That Aliza continued with her commitment was incredible to us, but was a minor feat for this quiet, tiny woman—small in stature but large in spirit. Even more astonishing that evening was hearing her life story.
Aliza emigrated to the British Mandate of Palestine from Poland, arriving in 1947 by way of Cyprus when she was 9, an age when our children are considering treats, swimming pools, soccer in the park, and the secret comfort of a parent’s lap. Aliza’s life was much different. By the age when she was old enough to enjoy outdoor sports, her family had left Lodz to hide in the woods during the Nazi occupation. They hid in the forest for months and ate what they could find around them while the Nazis destroyed Jewish culture and lives throughout Europe.
By Rabbi Rachel Timoner
When innocent children are separated from their parents and held in camps, we are in a crisis.
When two synagogues experience Antisemitic murders within six months, we are in a crisis.
When hate and scapegoating are whipped up by the leader of the country, we are in a crisis.
When the president vilifies the press and threatens the freedom of the press, we are in a crisis.
When the president defies and delegitimizes Constitutionally-mandated oversight by Congress, we are in a crisis.
By Ed Bleiberg
One aspect of my relationship with Israel has always included my interest in languages. My year-long stay in Jerusalem in 1974-75 was primarily to learn Hebrew. On the recent CBE congregational trip to Israel, language took many forms.
Proposal due date extended through August 11, 2019
Congregation Beth Elohim is seeking sealed bids for sales and installation of security related enhancements.
By Bonnie Bader
The light in Israel is brilliant. It floated over the Mediterranean, the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan River (which is neither deep nor wide). It reflected off the Dome of the Rock, emanated from the candles held in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and reflected off the Kotel; men and women praying in their separate sections. The light danced off faces: white, beige, brown, black, sparkling in the blue and brown eyes.
The light in Israel is mystical. Wandering through the cobbled streets of Tzfat, one of the four Holy Cities, I took in the blue doors, gobbled down a delicious Yemenite sandwich, and visited art galleries with work inspired by the messages of Kabbalah, and old synagogues each with its own story.
By Rabbi Rachel Timoner
I remember the first Dyke March, organized by the Lesbian Avengers in 1993 during the LGBT March on Washington. I was there, and I remember feeling that I was finally free — that we dykes could claim all of who we were — our full and complex identities, our bodies, our love, our commitments to equality and justice for all — and be utterly unashamed. It, and the subsequent marches since all over the country, have been profoundly liberating for so many people.
By Emily Sachs
Parshah B’midbar begins with an accounting/a census of military age Israelite men.
“So Moses and Aaron took those men, who were designated by name, and on the first day of the second month they convened the whole community, who were registered by the clans of their ancestral houses—the names of those aged twenty years and over being listed head by head.” Numbers 1:17
As the mother of a twenty-year old, whom we named for Jonah, the reluctant but effective prophet to the people of Ninevah, I think a lot about who counts, who serves, and what courage, service and peace-making look like.
After a comprehensive and thoughtful process led by a committee chaired by Danielle Mindlin with members Leslie Lewin, Marc Sternberg, Mara Getz Shaftel, and Jonathan Spear, and in close consultation with our clergy team and Yachad staff, we are thrilled to welcome Tehilah Eisenstadt to CBE as our new Director of Yachad and Family Engagement, effective July 15.
CBE members had an idea: what if kids around the country wrote personal letters to the kids who’ve been separated from their parents and are being held in detention in Homestead?
We are thrilled to welcome Alan Herman as our Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer, effective July 15.
Rabbi Leora Ezrachi-Vered recently joined us as part of her Golden Fellowship through HUC-JIR, which brings Israeli rabbinical students and recently ordained Israeli Reform Rabbis to intern in North American Reform congregations. Read Rabbi Ezrachi-Vered’s heartfelt reflection to CBE.
In the past week you may have noticed me around. I’ve had the good fortune to be able to visit CBE as a “Golden Fellow” (thanks to the generosity of the Hebrew Union College- Jewish Institute of Religion), getting to know your wonderful community, learning from your spiritual leadership and joining activities.
One of my favorite aspects of the seder is that we eat reclining. In this one move, the seder invites us to act out the release of stress from the body. The four questions tell us that on other nights we might eat sitting upright — tense — our minds on the work or hardships of the day, full of worry about what tomorrow will hold. But tonight, the freed slave experiences the psychic safety to recline, and we re-enact that sense of emotional and physical release. When my kids were little, they’d decorate their own special pillows for this purpose, which led them to nestle in to the shoulders or onto the laps of their neighbors. We’d make sure that everyone around the table had a pillow in order to fully lean on one another. This leaning on others reminds us that we’re connected, and the people around us can help hold us up.
First reported on by The Brooklyn Paper, “students at [St. Saviour Catholic Academy] trekked to a local synagogue to gift their Jewish neighbors an orange tree, in memory of a massacre that claimed 11 lives at a Pittsburgh temple last year.
The Jewish coming-of-age ceremony stretches to accommodate the new gender fluidity…
Rabbi Timoner recently wrote an op-ed for the Forward on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s upcoming appearance at the AIPAC Policy conference, expressing major concern for Netanyahu’s recent embrace of the controversial, extremist Jewish Power Party.
Dear CBE Community,
As we prepare for Shabbat, our hearts are broken from the murderous hate that killed 49 Muslims during prayer at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. Before killing and wounding innocent worshippers, the murderer released a manifesto citing American white nationalism as his inspiration. With Pittsburgh still so clear in our memories, we know how threatened and vulnerable all Jews felt after our own people were targeted in one of our holy places. We also know what it felt like when the larger community stood with us to make clear that we were not, and would not be, alone. We remember in particular how the Muslim community encircled us with their love and support.
Rabbi Rachel Timoner recently appeared on an episode of the Beliefs Podcast, a weekly news podcast covering religion, faith, and ethics. Rabbi Timoner and Dr. William Baker had a meaningful conversation about progressive activism, Zionism, the great potential of the progressive Jewish movement in America, and the crosswinds and squalls for American Jews during the Trump Administration.
CBE is excited to announce its first annual Unleavened Plays Festival.
The Festival is seeking six 10-minute plays, each reflecting the underlying theme of “PLAGUE(S).” The plays will be performed as an evening of staged readings at CBE on Sunday, April 14, 2019 — the weekend before Passover begins, as people around the world begin to think about the Jewish people’s efforts to escape Egypt and head out into the desert toward freedom.
Rabbi Matthew L. Green identified as “an exceptionally innovative leader” in an article written by Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President of Union for Reform Judaism. Article originally published on urj.org.
Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, in partnership with CBE and Brooklyn Jews, opened their search to commission a new play focusing on the American Jewish experience. The commission is looking to support an emerging, early-career playwright in creating a new work that will encourage meaningful dialogue around the complexity of being Jewish in America.
Read Rabbi Timoner’s d’var Torah on the upcoming Women’s March on Washington.
We find ourselves this week in the second parasha in the Book of Exodus. At the opening of last week’s Torah portion, we meet a new Pharaoh who doesn’t know Joseph. “Look, the Israelite people are much too numerous for us,” he says. “They might side with our enemies.” So he oppresses us ruthlessly with labor that makes our lives bitter, but we continue to increase and spread out until the Egyptians come to dread us.
Distinguished writer, Ta-Nehisi Coates and Chris Hayes of MSNBC’s All In with Chris Hayes, recently sat on the bimah in the main sanctuary to discuss the current political climate in America.
Fabiano Caruana will be the first American to compete for in the World Chess Championship since Bobby Fischer in 1972! Shortly after moving to the Park Slope area, Caruana’s parents enrolled him in CBE’s after school program where he was first introduced to the game of chess.
Rabbi Rachel Timoner sat down with Joel Berg, CEO of Hunger Free America and host of “America, We Need to Talk” on WBAI Radio, to discuss the current climate of anti-Semitism in America, what we as Jews (and as people) can do to eliminate it, and the importance of welcoming and embracing the other. Rabbi Timoner’s interview begins at 01:05.
Earlier this week, American Jewish Committee launched #ShowUpForShabbat, an initiative encouraging people to come together this weekend in solidarity with the Jewish community of Pittsburgh and Jews across the nation.
Cantor Josh Breitzer recently contributed to the New York Festival of Song’s Song of the Day series, highlighting specific songs that connect with corresponding days of Sukkot.
Are you considering preschool programs for your child? We put together this list of questions you may want to ask on your tours.
Rabbi Matthew L. Green is this week’s featured guest on ReformJudaism.org’s weekly Torah podcast, On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah. Download the most recent episode to hear him chat with Rabbi Rick Jacobs about what the weekly bible portion means in modern life: apple.co/1Rr87Nc
CBE will host a weekly meeting every Monday from 6:30-8:00 PM in the Chapel to help strategize and implement ways to stand against our border crisis.
Below is a list we’ve compiled of ways you can help families separated at the border.
Farewell Speech from Rabbi Marc Katz
Marc’s Last Lap Farewell Event, June 3, 2018
The amazing thing about the Jewish tradition is that there is a prayer for everything. There is a prayer for new beginnings, a prayer for seeing lightning and a different prayer for the rainbow after the storm. There is a prayer for seeing a beautiful person, and prayer for smelling a flower, even a prayer for using the bathroom.
But my favorite prayer has always been the prayer of endings, because it completely defies expectations.
LGBQT Leadership
Bringing Young Ideas to Veteran Institutions
In 11th annual installment of The Jewish Week’s 36 Under 36 special section, CBE’s Assosiate Rabbi, Matt Green was recognized as one of the The New Bridge Builders; a group of leading changemakers reaching across divides and edging the Jewish community forward.
Address from Rob Raich, CBE President
This past year has been a fantastic one for our congregation.
A Message from Rabbi Rachel Timoner
Dear CBE Community,
I know that many of us are experiencing a range of thoughts and emotions about what’s been happening in Israel. Yesterday, as the American Embassy was moved to Jerusalem and as 60 Palestinian people were killed at the Gaza border fence, Rabbi Rick Jacobs released this statement, which I support, on behalf of the Reform movement. Meanwhile, Rabbi Sharon Brous was with Rev. William Barber and many leaders of the Reform movement in Washington, D.C. launching the Poor People’s Campaign. She said these words about poverty in the United States, words that speak to my heart about Israel and the Palestinians. Perhaps they will speak to yours.
Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, talks about how leaders like CBE’s rabbinic intern, Matt Green, are building community through new models of belonging.
T’ruah Honors Rabbi Rachel Timoner with the Rabbinic Human Rights Hero Award.
Last month, we shared the bittersweet news that Rabbi Katz will be leaving CBE at the end of June to lead Temple Ner Tamid in Bloomfield, New Jersey. You can see that announcement and Marc’s beautiful letter to the congregation here. Four weeks ago, we were thrilled to announce that Matt Green will become CBE’s new Assistant Rabbi after he is ordained in the spring. You can see that announcement and read about Matt’s stellar achievements here. Today, we share the exciting news that CBE is expanding our clergy team with a third rabbi, and to introduce you to Rabbi Rebecca Epstein.
Washington, DC – On Wednesday, January 17, Rabbi Rachel Timoner joined Bend the Arc Jewish Action, the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, the Anti-Defamation League, and other clergy, leaders, and grassroots volunteers from across the Jewish community in a historic act of Jewish civil disobedience.
More than 100 participants occupied the Russell Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill to demand that congress include a clean DREAM Act in the government funding bill.
All Saints Episcopal Church welcomed Rabbi Katz as a guest preacher during their MLK Day celebration on January 15th. Read his full sermon:
Rabbi Timoner arrived in Israel today to begin an extraordinary, week-long mission with interfaith women clergy leaders from around the United States. Follow her trip on Facebook and Instagram (@cbebk).
Dear CBE Community,
We hope that you’ve had a chance to read Rabbi Marc Katz’s announcement last week. While it is not possible to ever replace Rabbi Katz at CBE, and while his imprint will remain on our community and on our lives for many years to come, we are grateful to have an extraordinary new rabbi ready to serve our community in his own unique way. We are thrilled to share the wonderful news that Matt Green will be CBE’s new Assistant Rabbi beginning on July 1, 2018.
PODCAST: Judaism Unbound, talks with CBE’s Rabbi Rachel Timoner as part of a series focusing on the exploration of Reform Judaism.
To My CBE Family,
It is with excitement for the future and gratitude for the last ten years that I announce I will become the Rabbi at Temple Ner Tamid in Bloomfield, N.J. starting July 1st.
Dear CBE Community,
I’m pleased to let you know that after six and a half years of faithful service to our congregation, Cantor Josh Breitzer will be taking a sabbatical from January through June of 2018.
Rabbi Rachel Timoner and other leading rabbis from all corners of the Jewish world are asked their thoughts on the most pressing issues of today in a series of articles from the Forward.
Take a listen to the moving and inspiring High Holy Day sermons from Rabbi Rachel Timoner and CBE president, Jonathan Fried using the playlist below. Also check out our sermon archive for corresponding text and other historical addresses.
To My CBE Community,
At the funeral for 32-year-old Heather Heyer, may her memory forever be a blessing, Heather’s mother said:
Brooklyn Borough President, Eric Adams, spent a night in the CBE shelter. Here’s what he had to say on Instagram about his experience and commitment to homelessness awareness:
Watch Rabbi Rachel Timoner co-present the New York Ordination Address at HUC-JIR’s Service of Ordination on May 7, 2017.
Tablet discussed how CBE’s Sukkah, which featured educational materials from HIAS, was especially designed to bring awareness about the world refugee crisis.
Bklynr published an article about when rocker legend Patti Smith visited CBE’s Brooklyn by the Book event and performed “Because the Night” in our very own CBE sanctuary.
Bklynr covered CBE’s Brooklyn by the Book event which featured author Toni Morrison who discussed her most recent book, God Help the Child.
The Observer’s piece talks about Rabbi Timoner’s new role at CBE and her focus on social justice activism.
The JTA features CBE’s Hebrew language immersion summer camp for kids, Ha’Geemnasia as a fun, effective, and enlightening way for children to learn Hebrew and about Israeli culture.