Egalitarian, Conservative and Reform Life Cycle Rituals

RABBI TSIPORA GABAI

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Let’s celebrate Kabbalah Shabbat March 27th at 6:45pm with Rabbi Tsipora Gabai, musical accompaniment by Katja Cooper
Chag Purim Semeach!

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Shabbat the Gift to the World

Shabbat is one of the greatest gifts that was given to the world. Shabbat is that sacred place, that dimension we enter with body and soul. This unique innovation is the essential creation of the Torah and Jewish culture. It is not merely a day of rest; it is also a day of holiness. The day we recharge our physical and spiritual batteries. One not need to be religious to enjoy and appreciate this elevated value. Shabbat is a sign of freedom and of liberty; of breaking loose from the yoke of the present, of the victory of the holy over the profane, and the triumph of the spirit over materialism. Blessings, Rabbi Tsipi Gabai

Purim

Shalom my friends, While women have special roles in each holiday, Purim is one of the holidays that is specifically incumbent on women to actively celebrate. This is because it took the courage of a woman – Queen Esther – to help create the turnabout in the edict to destroy the Jews.

The threats of destruction have been with us throughout all the years of our existence; more so during our time in exile. What is clear is that one of the most courageous and powerful of our resources for protection over the generations has been our women, and the greatest of these: our mothers.

Like my own mother, whose yahrzeit – memorial date – falls around the date of Purim. She navigated and dealt with her life with courage and a steadfast belief. She gave to the poor, not out of a sense of "charity", but rather from a sense of obligation, a sense of looking out for all her brethren. She kept her family together and close-knit, with a clear sense of values and ideals that have continued in all of her children and grandchildren and on until this day. Her love of humankind and her love of Torah were her steady guides in a very difficult and unforgiving world.

Purim, for me, in addition to being a holiday of courage, giving and miraculous turnabout, is also the memorial for the personal courageous woman in my life: my mother. She is my Queen Esther; she is the eternal Purim that lives on in our hearts and in our souls forever.

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