Immigration through a Torah Lens
08/08/2019 09:10:35 AM
In this week’s Torah portion, Matot & Masei, we find Moses and the children of Israel about to enter the Promised Land. Over the past 8 weeks, we have recounted their turbulent journey through the wilderness, their search for safety and security, their search for home. And now they are standing on the eastern bank of the Jordan River – the doorstep of the Land of Israel. They have dreamed about this moment for 40 years and they are...Read more...
Fostering Independence in Mosh Aleph at OSRUI
07/17/2019 09:27:44 AM
We send kids to summer camp to have fun, make Jewish friends, embark on new experiences and to develop a sense of independence. In Moshavah, our chanichim (campers) choose to go on overnight wilderness trips – hiking, canoeing, biking, or rock climbing. During their travels, they covered miles on the water and on the trail. We witnessed them pushing themselves with a good sense of humor and constant support of one...Read more...
CASA Advocate for Children
07/01/2019 10:10:20 AM
After retiring, Marianne Balin relocated to Boulder and began volunteering with CASA. This video highlights the impact of her engagement upon one family and on Marianne herself. Marianne's work with CASA exemplifies Har HaShem's focus on creating change in our communities and inspiring our own growth.
Voices for children CASA--Light of Hope 2019 from Voices for Children CASA on Vimeo.
My Journey Helping SpaceIL's "Apollo Moment"
05/24/2019 09:13:39 AM
It had been four months after I had made Aliyah to Israel when I first met the informal leader of SpaceIL, Yonatan Weintraub, at the Ilan Ramon Space Conference in Herzliya in January 2011. A mutual friend introduced me to Yonatan, as he felt that after my 30-year career in various leadership positions in the U.S. space program, I could help SpaceIL win the Google Lunar X Prize. At that time, more than 10 teams had formed to...Read more...
Homelessness is an "us" problem...
05/03/2019 08:11:27 AM
Honoring Katherine Schwartz
03/25/2019 10:01:26 AM
Katherine Schwartz has been educating our students and adults, alike, for the past 21 years. She has brought creativity, inspiration, and vitality to our school, youth programs and adult learners. For more than two decades, she has provided meaningful leadership, served as our director when needed, been a mentor to colleagues around the country and so much more.
This year is Katherine’s 25th year...Read more...
Message about Mosque Attacks
03/15/2019 12:20:24 PM
Parashat Vayak'hel: How to Make a Big Tent
03/05/2019 05:24:15 PM
I had this devious plan, that by waiting until 52 to become Bar Mitzvah, I could get away with a small, quiet, low-key service, and spare myself the pressure and anxiety we put the kids through. But my plan didn’t work. And maybe that’s a good thing. Because now I get to experience exactly what the kids do, when they’re asked to share something deeply meaningful, but not yet fully understood, with an overwhelming number of people. And...Read more...
A New Vision for Congregation Har HaShem
02/18/2019 11:45:32 AM
Congregation Har HaShem recently adopted a new Vision Statement. Our Vision is the culmination of a year-long process to craft a concise, powerful declaration of Who We Are as Boulder’s Reform Jewish community. I spoke a bit about the Vision during my remarks to the congregation on Kol Nidre. I’d like to share more about my personal connection to this guiding document for our synagogue.
We create meaning in our...Read more...
Faith in Housing
02/08/2019 08:46:24 AM
...Congregation Har HaShem, a Reform synagogue in Colorado, has a long history of providing temporary shelter to the homeless in its community. Like Christ Church, Har HaShem also has two houses on its property, but its partnership includes not only a non-profit agency but also a commercial property manager, with the intent to demonstrate a viable affordable housing model to for-profit landlords in Boulder.
Read the...Read more...
One to One
02/06/2019 09:33:22 AM
Anyone of us who has experienced a life challenging event knows how important support has been in helping us through a very difficult time. As a caring community, Har HaShem strives to assist our members in coming to terms with unforeseen events. One very important part of the services we offer is the One to One program.
We connect a volunteer who has faced a grave challenge with someone currently experiencing a similar...Read more...
Kol Sasson (Voices of Joy - our Adult Choir)
01/31/2019 08:55:34 AM
Kol Sasson joins Rabbi Greene and Holli Berman on the bima to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. day, singing Olam Chesed Yibaneh, We Will Build This World From Love.
Message about Government Shut Down
01/11/2019 11:58:55 AM
How to Live Jewishly Where There Are Few Jews
12/03/2018 09:18:45 AM
My phone rang one spring afternoon during the first year I served as the rabbi in Dothan, AL. You will have to imagine the Southern accent that greeted me when I answered.
“Rabbah, this is Leon. I’m going to Montgomery to get some Passover food Barbra and I need. I thought I would pick up the supplies for the seder for the congregation. Do you want to come with me?”
That...Read more...
I Will Not Yield My Hope
11/05/2018 05:36:20 PM
Consolation for our Community this Shabbat
10/27/2018 06:56:18 PM
At Torah study this morning, we were focusing on the themes of living with our eyes wide open so that we can live fully. It was a meaningful conversation filled with sharing and laughter. Little did we know that another shooting was taking place, this time at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, PA.
Read more...
Shmira, A Unique Path to Fulfillment
10/25/2018 08:20:34 PM
Doug Sparks, our congregant, shares his reflections on sitting shmira — accompanying a deceased person from the moment of death until burial — one of the most honourable traditions in Judaism. If his experience inspires you to learn more or to assist the Boulder Chevra Kadisha, please contact Doug at...Read more...
These Relationships Nourish My Soul
09/18/2018 08:00:00 PM
I am a Jew by choice. I am a member of HHS by choice. I am the president of this congregation by choice. These choices are part of my Jewish journey, a journey guided and nurtured by HHS and its values. In the coming weeks, you’ll be hearing more about the vision statement adopted by HHS’s Board. Tonight I’ll tell you how my family has lived the values embodied by this vision.
With my former wife Elaine and our two...Read more...
I Wait All Year for This Moment - The Neilah Service
09/12/2018 09:40:46 AM
There is a dramatic moment in our liturgy that I wait for all year long. It is the final service in the late afternoon on Yom Kippur called Neilah. Neilah means “locking.” The idea is that the Gates of Repentance are closing and these are the last few moments available to us to do the important work of teshuvah – turning/returning/repentance. The intensity is so strong that it actually makes me feel like my very life depends on...Read more...
As the Days of Awe Aproach
08/29/2018 03:17:07 PM
Our Days of Awe are constructed to challenge us. It is that simple. To get out of our own ways and find a renewed sense of purpose in our lives and a renewed relationship with God.
Recently, I have had a lot of conversations with different congregants about their feelings about God. They have shared questions, challenges, objections, and arguments. Nevertheless, among them I have seen a real, heartfelt desire to connect with God. They...Read more...
Groups House Formerly Homeless
08/20/2018 10:05:16 AM
Nonprofit CEO: 'We want this to be a model for property owners'
Misti Doyle doesn't remember the last time she had proper housing. She used to live with family, until one night, when they decided to get high. Doyle didn't feel like joining in, so they handed her $20 and sent her out into a snowstorm. She was homeless in Longmont for awhile, and spent the past year living at Bridge House, participating in its Ready to Work...Read more...
D'var Torah: Parshat Re'eh
08/08/2018 01:56:54 PM
The book of Deuteronomy gives us 3 sermons by Moses to the people of Israel, restating God’s commands originally given to the Israelites some forty years earlier in Exodus and Leviticus. This week’s Torah portion, Parshat Re'eh, is from the 2nd of those sermons and begins with the classic statement, "See, this day I set before you a blessing and a curse" - a blessing if the people obey God's commandments and a...Read more...
Actions To Protect Refugees
07/20/2018 10:28:38 AM
Last night, I heard the sound file on the news where a young child was crying out, "Papa! Papa!" It was heartbreaking. I knew I needed to write to you.
President Trump's tweet that immigrants will "infest our Country" echoes the antisemitsm of Shoah where Nazis described Jews as rats carrying contagion. I also hear the echo of Pharaoh in the first chapter of Exodus, when the newly emerged Pharaoh who didn't know Joseph was...Read more...
Can We Have God and Science?
07/20/2018 09:41:37 AM
There are some drawbacks to getting older. Getting up in the morning and having to really think about moving because we are so stiff, or the sudden realization that we have lived more life than we have yet to live. But there are perks, like senior discounts. Getting a Senior cup of coffee at McDonalds seems like such a savings when we get change back from our dollar. One of the least well known senior...Read more...
What We Grow on Kibbutz Tzofim, OSRUI
07/10/2018 03:00:24 PM
On any kibbutz in Israel, there are a wide variety of crops and animals, like on many farms. In recent decades, they have even grown beyond agriculture and have created industries and products that support their communities.
At OSRUI, our little kibbutz has a lovely gan (garden), a refet (which is a “dairy,” but at OSRUI, it is our collection of sheep, goats, hens and a very loud rooster)....Read more...
Bridge House and Har HaShem Partner to Address Boulder's Affordable Housing Crisis
07/09/2018 04:30:52 PM
Beginning in August, Bridge House and Congregation Har HaShem will partner to provide housing to six successful graduates of Bridge House's award-winning Ready to Work program. Bridge House will rent two houses owned by Har HaShem and managed by Boulder Property Management. The rooms will be sublet to graduates of Ready to Work with full-time, mainstream jobs who will also receive aftercare case management. Bridge House will provide a subsidy...Read more...
From Generation to Generation: Learning Life Lessons at Camp, OSRUI
06/26/2018 03:01:55 PM
Dreaming of possibilities, testing hypotheses, picking ourselves up through adversity, pushing ourselves to grow, making connections, learning Torah, having fun.
These are experiences we want our young people to acquire. And what a great environment camp is to learn them! The chanichim (campers) are together with each other 24 hours a day. They look to their madrichim (counselors) to learn those...Read more...
Wedding Officiation: I Do.
06/23/2017 12:03:43 PM
I write to share some recent reflections relating to a question that I received in every single encounter during my interview process: Will you officiate at a wedding between a Jew and a non-Jew?
At the time, I described feeling like I was standing at a crossroad. In my previous 16 years as a rabbi, I had committed to never reject or condemn couples who chose to intermarry, but I felt unable to officiate where one...Read more...