FROM RABBI LIEBERMAN
Happy Thanksgivukah!
This year, the first day of Hanukkah coincides with Thanksgiving Day. (Chanukah begins Wednesday night, Nov. 27th.) Amazingly, this is only the second time it's happened since President Lincoln established Thanksgiving in 1863 (it happened in 1888) and it is also the last time it'll happen until the year [...]
Wear the purple ribbon!
Truth: Shalom bayit – domestic tranquility – is a central tenet of Judaism.Myth: Domestic violence is not a Jewish problem.Truth: Domestic violence is a community issue, not a private affair.Myth: Domestic violence is rare among Jewish families.Truth: Domestic abuse occurs in Jewish families at the same rate as in all [...]
Neither early nor late….
"The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco." Do you recognize that quote? It’s attributed to Mark Twain...but he never said it. It’s a great quote, nonetheless. Here’s my attempt to birth a memorable quote: “The shortest summer I ever spent on Cape Cod was when [...]
Pyrotechnics….and memory
If asked to recall poignant Fourth of July memories, most people would probably summon up fireworks and cookouts, flag-bedecked houses and small-town parades. While I have certainly seen my share of Fourth of July pyrotechnics, my most enduring memory of the 4th is a bittersweet one....the first time I recall [...]
The Return of the Snowbirds
I have never been an avid birder but I do enjoy listening to Vernon Laux, whose birding reports air regularly on WCAI/NAN (90.1 FM, the Cape & Islands NPR stations). His enthusiasm and encyclopedic knowledge of the birds of the area never fail to send my imagination soaring. Vern recently [...]
The Meaning of “Meaning”
What gives meaning to your life? Or, to frame the question another way, “When did you last experience a truly meaning-filled moment?” Let me recount for you one such moment that I recently experienced. On Yom Ha-Shoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day), during our congregation’s annual observance, we removed from the aron [...]