Community Blog

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Shabbat Shalom! This week’s Torah portion is Parashat Beha’alot’cha, which begins with the instructions and then follow-through of the lighting of the menorot in the Mishkan, along with the initiation ceremony of the Levites. We also read of the Israelites’ constant...Read more...

This Shabbat we celebrated the confirmation of two of our students at Ner Shalom. They prepared this service, not only by reviewing the prayers they learned in their previous 6 years of Religious School, but by applying what we learned about Israel this year and using their increased wisdom of these two more years of Jewish life as they confirm the commitment to their Jewish identities displayed at their B'nai Mitzvah. These original words of...Read more...

The Prince William County Human Rights Commission mission is to eliminate discrimination in our county by enforcing our civil and human rights laws and to establish equal opportunity for all persons within Prince William County through communication, education, and accessibility. To file a complaint or learn more about your Human Rights, please contact the Prince William County Human Rights office or visit our website at...Read more...

Shabbat Shalom! It is time to count the Omer.

BA-RUCH A-TAH ADO-NAI E-LO-HE-NU ME-LECH HA-OLAM ASHER KID-E-SHA-NU BE-MITZ-VO-TAV VETZI-VA-NU AL SEFI-RAT...Read more...

Shabbat Shalom. This week’s Torah portion is Parashat Metzora, the continuation of last week’s discussion of the laws of tzara’at, the skin disease sometimes translated as leprosy but which almost certainly is not, the infection that can spread beyond the skin to clothes and house, the...Read more...

Shabbat Shalom! This week’s Torah portion is Parashat Shemini, which opens with a disturbing story of two sons of Aaron. Nadav and Avihu bring a “strange fire” into the Mishkan as an offering of God, despite the last 8 chapters of very details rules and explanations of what kind of sacrifices God expects now that the Mishkan is ready. As a result, God smites the brothers dead. Then abruptly the parasha shifts to discuss which...Read more...

           Some weeks feel like there is just so much ungodliness in the world; it’s hard to know where to even begin shining the light of Torah. I believe in the power of Torah, of the Divine, of our spiritual connections, to help clear away the shadows of sadness and fear, but sometimes there are just too many shadows to get all of them, and I just...Read more...

Shabbat Shalom! This week’s Torah portion is Parashat Tetzaveh, continuing the instructions for the building of the Mishkan. This week’s set of directions focus mostly on accoutrements - the menorah, the oil, and the priests’ vestments. The very first line of the parasha is “You shall further instruct the Israelites to bring you clear oil of beaten olives for lighting, for kindling lamps regularly.” The Talmud comments on...Read more...

"At 16 weeks [pregnant], I had an abortion. My son was diagnosed with a fetal anomaly that was 100% incompatible with life. I lived in Texas where the laws (Texas House Bill 2) at the time prevented me from getting the abortion care that I needed at the time that I wanted it. There was a 3-4 week waiting list as well as a 3-4 day process. The laws had such a profound impact on my mental and emotional health that I ended up traveling...Read more...

          For the last several years since I first read Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg’s The Particulars of Rapture: Reflections on Exodus, Parashat Bo immediately calls to mind her phrasing, “motionless tableau of leaving,” a “tableau of release” (page 165). There are many nuggets of wisdom I have learned from the four books of hers that I have read, but few have so...Read more...

Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach! Chanukah is at its core a holiday about embracing freedom of religion, a pride in being Jewish, and a refusal to change just for the sake of fitting in with those in power. As modern, progressive Jews, we have changed ourselves a bit to keep up with the times, but we maintain our Jewishness and can still appreciate our ancestors who fought for our right to do so. The emphasis of the miracle of the...Read more...

     Shabbat Shalom! This week’s Torah portion is Parashat Vayetzei, in which Jacob runs off to his uncle Laban’s house to escape his brother Esau, who in last week’s parasha he twice deceived and claimed what was rightfully Esau’s. In this week’s parasha, Jacob meets and immediately falls in love with Laban’s daughter Rachel. However, in the light of the morning after the wedding, he discovers that the...Read more...

       Shabbat Shalom! This week’s Torah portion is Parashat Lech-Lecha, in which we start to learn about Abram. God forms a special covenant with Abram in this parasha which serves to effectively be the betrothal with the Hebrews that will develop into the ketubah signed with the Israelites at Mount Sinai. This parasha shows us a momentous moment and relationship for our peoplehood and faith, but...Read more...

     Shabbat Shalom! This week’s Torah portion is, of course, Parashat Noach, in which we read about the story of Noah’s ark, the flood that covered the whole earth, and finally a strange little story about a group of people that tried to build a tower up to heaven and were punished with the creation of multiple languages. 

     I am often pretty ungenerous in my reading of...Read more...

Nachas-A Yiddish word meaning that you are happy and proud, especially of the accomplishments of your children