Reproductive Rights Is A Jewish Value
Rosh Hashanah Sermon – 5783/2022 Rabbi Heidi Cohen On June 24 we were all shocked yet not surprised. 50 years after Roe v Wade was passed, after the Supreme Court ruled that a woman had the right to her own reproductive care, it was taken away. It was as if the rug was pulled out […]
What is Freedom? Especially Today
Judaism exists because of freedom. Our text says often, ‘remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Eternal freed you.’ Shortly after our leaving Egypt and being free, we were given the responsibility of Torah and the 613 commandments. Our Jewish journey began here with learning the commandments and integrating them into our new […]
Protecting Our Children Does Not Mean Silencing Them
We would like to think that we live in a progressive times. We include our pronouns on our zoom names and signatures to emails. We respect and celebrate every person’s gender identity. We know that every family is unique and there is no one size/gender fits all. We encourage our children to be who they […]
Invest in HaNefesh at the End of 2021
Checks can be sent to: HaNefesh15333 Culver Dr.Suite 340-2AIrvine, CA 92604 HaNefesh is about building Jewish life without “Building Funds.” Our concrete and mortar are the strong relationships that bind our community together, the learning that provides a foundation of knowledge and enrichment, and the spiritual connections that uplift our souls toward wholeness, breath, and […]
We Are So Excited to be a Part of Something Big
This week, in our Torah portion, Vayishlach, we continue to see Jacob’s transformation. He comes from a family who shares a covenant with God. His mother made sure that he was destined to continue that line by helping him get the birthright blessing from his father, Isaac. And last week, he made a deal with […]
Halloween…Festival of Chocolate…Jews, Golems and Ghosts
This Sunday is Halloween, a night of dressing up in costumes, knocking on stranger’s doors and asking for candy! What kid doesn’t like this day! And parents even enjoy the trick or treating with the caveat to our youth, ‘oh, you don’t need all of that candy’ and then we pick out our favorite, stashing […]
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The Megillah as Seen Today
Judaism has over 3000 years worth of text to immerse ourselves in. And we often ask, is any of it still relevant? The answer is, yes! It is relevant because we do the work to ask the important question, what does this text tell me about my life today or the world? Tonight, we will […]
The Mountain Over Our Heads
Have you ever felt like someone was holding a mountain over your head wanting you to choose something? This was exactly how one midrash suggests the Israelites felt when the Torah was being presented to them. This week, we read from Parashat Yitro which includes the giving of the Ten Commandments to Moses who will […]
Who will plant for the future?
This week brings together two observances. Today is Tu BiShvat, the 15th of the month of Shvat during which we celebrate the birthday or the new year of the trees. This festival reminds us to never take for granted this beautiful earth that is ours to care for and protect for future generations. That we […]
