Here are the thoughts that I wrote for this past Friday’s MLK Shabbat, which was a shared service in partnership between our congregation, Johnson C. Smith University, and East Stonewall AME Zion Church. Many wonderful words were spoken by many speakers. May Dr. King’s birthday be an impetus for us to deepen relationships between religiousContinue reading “Martin Luther King Shabbat @ Beth El”
Category Archives: Judaism
Virtually Jewish
Can you have a virtual minyan? Halachic authorities are unanimous: the answer is no. You cannot count a minyan of people who are separated geographically but connected through technology. The reason is simple: a minyan must consist of people who are together in the same room. And no matter how closely connected people may feelContinue reading “Virtually Jewish”
In Defense of “Going Through the Motions”
Is there anything worse than “going through the motions?” Is there any stronger description of emotional emptiness and lack of meaning? Marriages end because “we were just going through the motions.” People abandon religious practice because they were “just going through the motions” at church or synagogue. But is that a fair way to treatContinue reading “In Defense of “Going Through the Motions””
Rabbi Micah Streiffer 