You are here: Home > Posts > Posts by Categories > Rabbi
Rabbi Cassi Kail’s Erev Rosh HaShanah Sermon Spotlighted by the URJ Our new Rabbi Cassi Kail gave a series of moving and inspirational sermons over this year’s High Holiday Services at Temple Beth El. On Erev Rosh HaShanah she spoke of our community, its nearly century-long history, of the many multi-generational families that have been […]
Turning Fasting Into Feasting Rabbi Cassi Kail rabbikail@bethelsp.org Just five days separate Yom Kippur and Sukkot, and yet they seem light years apart. In less than a week we move from fast to feast, and from confronting our mortality to celebrating our lives. Whereas on Yom Kippur we stand in the security of our sanctuary, […]
Fighting Fire with Fire Rosh Hashanah 5780/2019 Rabbi Cassi Kail I remember it like it was yesterday. I was walking down High Street at Oxford University, where I was studying abroad. High Street is the main road connecting St Hilda’s College—my school—with Oxford’s vast libraries, lecture halls, and cultural centers. Although it was just a […]
Let Us Proclaim the Sacred Power of Our Days Erev Rosh Hashanah 5780/2019 Rabbi Cassi Kail It is such a pleasure to be standing here with all of you as we welcome in the year 5780 together. Today has many names, including Rosh Hashanah, the head of the new year; Yom HaTruah, the day of […]
Commitment and Challenge Rabbi Cassi Kail rabbikail@bethelsp.org Rarely are the Hebrew and secular calendars as in sync as they are this September. On September first, we celebrate the first day of the Hebrew month of Elul, as well. Every Hebrew month is significant, but Elul is special because of its proximity to Rosh HaShanah. The […]
Sheheheyanu Moment Rabbi Cassi Kail rabbikail@bethelsp.org I am writing this article amidst a sea of boxes, as my family prepares to move from New York to Southern California. My eight-year-old, Noam, is most excited to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios. My six-year-old, Talia, is excited to live near the Pacific […]
It Has Been a Privilege Rabbi Douglas Kohn rabbikohn@bethelsp.org Our year has wound its way from last July to this June, and we have seen TBE through its initial rabbinic transitions, and so much more. It is nearly time for my farewell, and for TBE to undertake its next rabbinic transition. As such… On behalf […]
About Me Rabbi Cassi Kail RabbiCassi@gmail.com I was sixteen when I first heard the call to be a rabbi. I held onto my guitar as I stepped into my grandmother’s nursing home. Though her Alzheimer’s disease made it difficult for us to share meaningful conversations, I hoped that we could connect through the Jewish music […]
Commitment of Our Students Rabbi Douglas Kohn rabbikohn@bethelsp.org Confirmation will be marked late in this springtime month of May, and it is a time of recognizing and celebrating notable devotion and achievement. Not only will three wonderful students—Hannah Brooks, Jordan Davidson and Emmet Paul—lead our worship, teach Torah, and take their places beside those of previous […]
Dearest Temple Beth El members and Friends, Again, a Shabbat morning was violated by gunshots at a synagogue service. Our sense of security – sureness in the haven of a Sanctuary where the Ner Tamid glows and the Holy Ark presides – has been pierced by bullets, and the ground of American religious safety and freedom […]
