I've Always Wondered
Back to Ethiopia? Originally Published May 30 - June 1, 2019.

A couple weeks ago we were discussing Kush and where it was and is.  28 Iyyar, corresponding this year to Sunday, June 2, 2019, is Remembrance Day for Ethiopian Jews.  The date was already (since 1968) Yom Yerushalayim, Jerusalem Unification Day, celebrating the reunification after the Six-Day War in 1967.  The remembrance is for the thousands […]

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Was Maimonides Really a Physician? Originally Published May 24-25, 2019.

We often study the work of Rabbi Moses ben Maimon, known as Maimonides or Rambam, who lived from 1135-1204.  Born in Cordoba, Spain, he was part of a long line of scholars.  As he reached his 13th birthday, Cordoba fell to the Almohads in Spring 1148, and under the resultant religious persecution the family was […]

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A Journey of Strength

Saturday, June 1, 2019 | 12:45 p.m. Join Barbara Stock for a Shabbat Shi'ur as she discusses her book Anything Is Possible: A Child's Journey to America and Hope. The book tells the story of Sarah, a young girl in Czarist Russia, and her journey to America, and her struggle to find a home in […]

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I've Always Wondered
What Is "Shomer Shabbat"? Originally Published May 17-18, 2019.

“Shomer Shabbat” (שׁוֹמֵר שַׁבָּת)  is a term used to describe a person who “keeps” the Sabbath.  In Ashkenazic Hebrew the name of the seventh day may be pronounced “Shabbos.” You may recall a few weeks ago when we discussed the term “shamar” as meaning to guard, protect, keep.  This is another usage of it. There […]

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I've Always Wondered
Where is "Kush," Which Is Mentioned in Today's Haftarah? Originally published May 10-11, 2019.

“Kushi’im” are mentioned in the haftarah for Kedoshim (this week), translated in our Etz Hayim humash as “Ethiopians.”  In the haftarah on the eighth day of Pesah and again the other day on Yom HaAtsma’ut, we read that God will redeem “the other part of his people from Assyria, as also from Egypt, Pathros, Nubia…,” […]

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Thursday Evenings in My Garden

Memorial Day through Labor Day | 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. EVERYDAY SPIRITUALITY FOR HEALING, GROWTH, CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION Join us weekly for casual conversation and exploration! Come once or come weekly, friends are welcome! Please check our websites for location and confirmation of upcoming dates! DEBORAH A. BARON, COACH Executive, Leadership, Life, Transformative deborah@deborahbaron.com www.deborahbaron.com […]

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Strategic Plan Community Conversation

Thursday, May 16 at 6:30 p.m. | Samuel & Minnie Hyman Ballroom Light refreshments will be served. Have you been a member of Beth Shalom for 5 years or less? We'd like your help gathering information about synagogue life to help us pinpoint areas of focus for our Strategic Plan. To RSVP call 412-421-2288 or […]

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I've Always Wondered
What Is the Sefer HaHinukh? Originally Published May 3-4, 2019.

Published anonymously in 13th-century Spain, the Sefer HaHinukh - the Book of Education (ספר החינוך) - is a discussion of the 613 mitzvot (sometimes called commandments) of the Torah.  Following up on Maimonides’ lead in his Sefer HaMitzvot, published in the 12th century, this author also listed the mitzvot in the order they appear through […]

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