Emanuel Congregation | Reform Jewish Synagogue

Greetings friends! Purim Sameach (Happy Purim)! Purim happens to be one of my favorite holidays, so let’s start out with a few Purim Jokes: What was Queen Esther’s royal gown made of? Poly-Ester! How do we know that Achashverosh had a telephone? First he gave Haman a ring, then he hung him up. What’s the point of a hamantaschen? It has 3 points! Some people call Purim “Jewish Halloween” or think of it as a time to score some hamantaschen (my favorite Jewish food!) But really,

February is Jewish Disability Awareness, Acceptance and Inclusion Month (JDAIM.) Established in 2009 by the Jewish Special Education International Consortium as a unified effort among Jewish organizations and communities worldwide to raise awareness and foster inclusion of people with disabilities and those who love them. JDAIM is a call to action to each one of us in accordance with our Jewish values, honoring the gifts and strengths that we each possess. To that end, Emanue

Moses, arguably the most famous prophet of our tradition is deputized (much to his chagrin) in the beginning of the book of Exodus. The word prophet in the English language primarily describes a person who foretells future events, but the Hebrew word (Navi) has a different bend altogether. The Hebrew concept assumes that only a Deity has the ability to foretell, and that a Navi’s job is simply to act as a mouthpiece for God. Additionally, unlike a fortune teller who may belie