September 4, 2019
September 4, 2019
Dear Friends, Sunday was the first day of the Hebrew month of Elul. While this day may have come and gone with little recognition for its Jewish significance, the first day
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HCRJ Web Admin
September 1, 2019
Kosher Sex
In the Sheva Berachot, the seven traditional blessings recited at every Jewish wedding, our tradition elevates the importance of two aspects of marital connectedness. The first of these sacred connections
Continue readingAugust 28, 2019
August 28, 2019
Dear Friends, Labor Day is a national holiday held every year on the first Monday in September. For most of us, this holiday is observed as a day for shopping
Continue readingAugust 14, 2019
August 21, 2019
Dear Friends, On this Sabbath – in congregations all over the world – we read that – Moses addresses the community with the following words: Circumcise the foreskin of your
Continue readingAugust 14, 2019
August 14, 2019
Dear Friends, In our Torah portion this week, we read the Shema, the quintessential expression of the Jewish faith in God. This year, this portion has an added level of
Continue readingAugust 7, 2019
August 7, 2019
Dear Friends, This past weekend, I had the privilege of joining an amazing group of teens from the Holy Land (the preferred term used by the participants of Peace Camp).
Continue readingAugust 1, 2019
Models for Civility in an Age of Controversy
Dear Friends, In today’s ever-more-polarized world, there seems to be a decline in civility. The norms which dictate decent behavior seem to be eroding, as our interactions have become angrier,
Continue readingJuly 31, 2019
July 31, 2019
Dear Friends, Since the earliest of times, Judaism has considered the cycles of the moon as a sacred indicator of time. For our ancestors, the lunar cycle was the primary
Continue readingJuly 24, 2019
July 24, 2019
Dear Friends, We live in a world where dreadful actions are constantly being perpetrated and justified in the name of religion. This global phenomenon has no boundaries and is not
Continue readingJuly 17, 2019
July 17, 2019
Dear Melissa, Over the course of the past decades, our national conversations around politics have become toxic. We cannot discuss anything of significance without becoming crippled by hostility and frustration.
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Rabbi Gross writes most of what is on this page, and says the rest of it on a Friday night. Everyone is welcome at a service, and you do not need to tell anyone you are coming.