Lessons from a trip to Israel Rabbi Amanda Shwartz For Chanukah this year, I gave my mom a photo book commemorating our trip this summer to Israel. As I meticulously organized the photos in the album, I was transported back to our time there and to a very important lesson I was reminded of during… Read More from Commonalities as the Focus
Rabbi Dr. Caryn Aviv Here are some texts I have been receiving and sending from family, friends, and rabbinic colleagues since that terrible day on October 7th. Are you okay? How’s your heart? How are you holding up? Is your family in Israel safe? Thinking of you and what’s happening in Israel and Gaza. Heartbreaking. Here… Read More from What It’s Like to Live with Jewish Anxiety Right Now
What has happened in the past week in Israel is an epic collective trauma unfolding in real time. This has been a horrific and painful experience. Our hearts are so broken, grieving, and tender. All our triggers about safety and belonging have been activated. All our fears, about whether we are loved or hated simply… Read More from Broken, Grieving, and Tender Hearts
For over 15 years, Judaism Your Way has been meeting Jews and loved ones with unconditional love, joy, acceptance, empathy, and respect. While key in providing people with an experience of a Judaism that cared about them, these qualities were not sufficient to build and sustain a Judaism of maximal inclusion. Judaism Your Way was… Read More from The Torah of Inclusion™
On the evening of May 25th, on the secular calendar, we begin the holiday of Shavuot. This holiday commemorates the giving and receiving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai. A beautiful Shavuot tradition is to adorn homes and Jewish spaces with flowers. There are many explanations behind this tradition from commemorating that flowers miraculously grew… Read More from Shavuot
Counting the Omer, Netzach Sheh b’NetzachBy Dan Yolles In Jewish tradition, we are currently in a period of what is called counting the Omer, the 49 day period between the 2nd night of Passover and Shavuot, the holiday marking the receiving of the Torah from Mt. Sinai. While traditionally it holds agricultural implications as ‘omer’… Read More from Counting the Omer, Netzach Sheh b’Netzach
Mishloach Manot and Building CommunityBy Rabbi Caryn Aviv Purim is coming! Purim is coming! Every year, right around Valentine’s Day, I’m craving two things: the crocus buds that herald the coming of spring, and the countdown to Daylight Savings time. Both these yearnings always mean one thing: Purim is right around the corner! Purim this… Read More from Mishloach Manot and Building Community
For those of you who have been with Judaism Your Way in previous years, you may have noticed that we read different Torah readings every year on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. We do this because for most of us, this is one of, if not the only time we will hear the Torah read… Read More from Rabbi Amanda Schwartz’s 2022 Yom Kippur Sermon
This past summer I had the pleasure of officiating the wedding of a wonderful couple named Robin and Jonathan. I had the pleasure of officiating weddings of many wonderful couples but it was particularly meaningful to officiate Robin and Jonathan’s wedding because it was intended to occur in the summer of 2020 but was delayed… Read More from Rabbi Amanda Schwartz’s 2022 Rosh Hashanah Sermon
As I was dancing with my wife and closest friends, seeing one of our favorite bands, The String Cheese Incident, on a perfect Sunday evening at Red Rocks for our annual tradition of catching their July Colorado run, I looked around, took a big deep breath and smiled. I saw friends and family dressed in… Read More from Rabbinic Intern Dan Yolles’ 2022 Erev Rosh Hashanah Sermon
Since 2003, Judaism Your Way has fostered community in Denver/Boulder and beyond, with a mission to offer Jewish connection, engagement, and belonging.
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