Leadership - TEMPLE BETH EL

President’s Post – May 2020

May 1, 2020

Zooming into Shavuot? Eric Imley & Gale Swartz, Co-Presidents eimley@yahoo.com swartzplace@gmail.com For the past many days, we have seen a message in our Facebook feeds, when we log on in the mornings, that Rabbi Kail has been Live on Facebook commemorating the Counting the Omer. The ancient tradition of marking the days between Passover and […]

Introducing Doris Jacobson

April 8, 2020

Introducing Doris Jacobson, Open Tent Project Coordinator I am extremely excited to be working with you as your Open Tent Project Coordinator. In Judaism, the concept of the “Open Tent” dates back to Abraham. Legend says that Abraham’s tent had four openings so that he could welcome people from all directions. In defining “Open Tent” […]

President’s Post – April 2020

April 8, 2020

We Are Here For You! Eric Imley & Gale Swartz, Co-Presidents eimley@yahoo.com swartzplace@gmail.com First of all, we want to go on record that Temple Beth El is NOT CLOSED! While we have ceased, temporarily, using our physical building we are continuing to ZOOM full stream ahead! In addition, Rabbi, Cantor, Carrie, Shoni and the lay […]

President’s Post – March 2020

February 29, 2020

To Mask or Not to Mask? Eric Imley & Gale Swartz, Co-Presidents eimley@yahoo.com swartzplace@gmail.com Is that the question and why are we asking it? Dressing up costumes, and masks aren’t mentioned in the Book of Esther. There is no indication that anyone ever dressed up for Purim in the Mishnah, Talmud, or in the literature […]

President’s Post – February 2020

January 28, 2020

Tree Hugging for Tu BiSh’vat Eric Imley & Gale Swartz, Co-Presidents eimley@yahoo.com swartzplace@gmail.com Can you remember your first introduction to Tu BiSh’vat, the ‘New Year of the Trees’? For many of us it was in religious school when we were asked to save our dimes (or quarters) on a card to buy a tree for […]

President’s Post – January 2020

December 30, 2019

Opening Our Tent Eric Imley & Gale Swartz, Co-Presidents eimley@yahoo.com swartzplace@gmail.com How do we go from being two strangers passing on the sidewalk to two neighbors becoming friends and part of a larger community? Moyaert examines the significance of the hospitality shown by Abraham at Mamre in Genesis 18:1-33. “Abraham was not in the best […]

President’s Post – December 2019

November 27, 2019

Reaching Out Eric Imley & Gale Swartz, Co-Presidents eimley@yahoo.com swartzplace@gmail.com It is no accident that we, the Jewish people, call ourselves “Am Yisrael“—“the people of Israel”— rather than “Dat Yisrael,” or “the religion of Israel.” A sense of people-hood has long been the defining characteristic of the Jews. You have spoken, and we have listened […]

President’s Post – November 2019

October 30, 2019

Do you URJ? Eric Imley & Gale Swartz, Co-Presidents eimley@yahoo.com swartzplace@gmail.com What? Who? Might be the first questions you ask. The letters stand for the Union for Reform Judaism which encompasses almost 900 congregations across the U.S. and Canada. ‘OK, so what? What does that mean to me as a congregant?’ you ask. The URJ […]

President’s Post – October 2019

October 1, 2019

Tis the Season Eric Imley & Gale Swartz, Co-Presidents eimley@yahoo.com swartzplace@gmail.com This is the time in the Jewish calendar when we take stock of where we were, where we are and where we want to be going. Many will say, us included, that this is the busiest time of the Jewish year with a time […]

President’s Post – September 2019

August 30, 2019

Elul-minating T’Shuvah Eric Imley & Gale Swartz, Co-Presidents eimley@yahoo.com swartzplace@gmail.com When contemplating this month’s message, we are on the cusp of the month of Elul, the very beginning of the time for t’shuvah. We have heard many folk lament that the Holy Days are especially ‘late’ this year. Actually, they are the same time […]