Rabbi Ira Youdovin: Now It's Our Turn On the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av in the year 586 BCE, the prophet Jeremiah sat somewhere in Jerusalem watching his beloved city go up in flames. Overcome with grief, he wrote words preserved in the biblical Book of Lamentations: “Lonely sits the city Once great [...]
Mrs. Raymond King Myerson: A Word from Our Matriarch At the suggestion of a very dear friend who recognized the value of my experience, I am sharing this information with any who may find it of value. Because of very advanced age and diminution of eyesight I have secured the company of four [...]
Elizabeth Mason: Ruth Bader Ginsberg Our tradition espouses an inspiring concept. It is as follows: supposedly those among us who pass from this life just prior to Rosh HaShanah are those who have purposely been detained by the Divine Hand. This is because our world has needed their influence until the very end of the [...]
Sharon Davidson: A Caregiver’s Prayer Master of the Universe, As I wake each morning to the heartbreaking tasks of providing care to my loved one, I pray for the energy and patience to meet the challenges of the day ahead and the days to come. I pray that I can perform these duties with kindness and respect, in order to maintain his dignity and honor his humanity. I pray [...]
Gary Linker: What the Pandemic Brought Home To Me As a fairly typical baby boomer who grew up in a secular Jewish home in the Midwest, I learned about social justice and the need to give back at a fairly young age. As a teenager I attended many conferences on civil rights and became a very [...]
Sharon Davidson: My Unetanah Tokef [This post shares the beautiful blessing poem by new CBB member Sharon Davidson. It was originally recorded and aired as part of her other Jewish home of Congregation Beth El in San Diego for their online High Holy Day services this year. We share it here today, thrilled to have [...]
Merith Cosden: When Location Doesn't Matter My experience of the Pandemic has been like riding an emotional wave. The lowest point was at the start, when face-to face communications ended and we had not yet identified alternative possibilities. I felt unmoored, especially when we physically distanced from my adult children and grandchildren to assure each other’s safety. I am now in a better place, a bubble in which my husband [...]