From the Bimah: Jewish Lessons for Life Temple Emanuel in Newton

June 15, 2024

Dr. Rochelle Walensky served as the 19th Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2021-23), Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School (2012-2021), and Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital (2017-2021). Dr. Walensky is an infectious disease clinician whose research career is guided by a belief that the clinical and economic outcomes of medical decisions can be improved through the explicit articulation of choices, the systematic assembly of evidence, and the careful assessment of comparative costs and benefits. She has focused these beliefs on mathematical model-based research toward the promotion of global access to HIV prevention, screening, and care. Her ground-breaking work and over 300 research publications have motivated changes to US HIV testing and immigration policy; promoted expanded funding for HIV-related research, treatment, and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPfAR); and led to policy revisions toward aggressive HIV screening – especially for the underserved – and earlier treatment in resource-limited international settings. In light of these contributions, Dr. Walensky has been an active member of policy discussions at the WHO, UNAIDS, the DHHS HIV Guidelines Committee, and the NIH Office of AIDS Research.



View the texts HERE

Sivan Kotler-Berkowitz (he/him) is a rising sophomore at UMass Amherst studying Special Education and Psychology. He is passionate about transgender youth advocacy, working with kids with disabilities, and making the world a better place. As an advocate, Sivan shares his story as a thriving transgender teenager to help replace misinformation about transgender youth. Through his advocacy, he has appeared on national television, worked with Nike, met with officials in the U.S. Department of Education, attended events at the White House, and even spoken to the President and Vice President. 

One of the best parts of being a rabbi is sitting down with a young couple that has just become engaged and is now beginning the exciting journey of planning their wedding day. That initial conversation always involves the sharing of the proposal story. Almost always there is an element of surprise. One partner does not know it’s coming or coming then. There is usually a photographer hiding in a bush taking pictures or a videographer hiding in a bush capturing the whole thing on video. There is often a room somewhere strewn with roses or flower petals and bottles of champaign. It is not uncommon for the person planning the proposal to have arranged for both sets of parents and siblings to be at a cool restaurant to celebrate.

Betrothal energy is unique, and uniquely beautiful. It happens once, and the couple remembers it forever.

What do we make then of the end of the Haftarah from Hosea:

I will betroth you forever;

I will betroth you with righteousness and justice,

And with goodness and mercy,

And I will betroth you with faithfulness;

Then you shall be devoted to the Lord. (2: 21-22)

These lines of betrothal are part of our daily morning prayer practice. We say them as we wrap tefillin every Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Rinse and repeat for our whole lives.

What does it mean that betrothal energy, engagement energy, flower and champagne energy, photographers hiding out in the bushes energy to capture a once in a lifetime moment, is recited every single week day?

For our last class, we focus on three life lessons that flow from turning a once in a lifetime deal to an everyday deal.

June 1, 2024

We could all use a booster shot of hope. Where do we find it?

Tomorrow we are going to examine two very different models for finding hope in dark circumstances: Rabbi Akiva in the Talmud, Makot 24 A and B, and Rabbi Jonathan Sacks in his epic Morality, published shortly before he passed away in 2020.

Rabbi Akiva’s approach to hope seems to be about a new lens: Look at reality differently.

Rabbi Sacks’s approach to hope seems to be about a new action plan: Act differently.

What is the relationship of these two approaches to each other, and to us now?