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Dear Friends of Temple Beth Israel, May has arrived — and with it, longer days, blooming gardens, and that unmistakable feeling that the universe is nudging us to open the windows (both literally and metaphorically). Here in the Jewish calendar, we find ourselves in the heart of the Omer, counting our way from liberation toward revelation. It turns out that counting your blessings and counting the Omer go beautifully hand in hand. I'll be honest — when I agreed to write this

Happy May Temple Beth Israel, With Memorial Day parades and barbeques, May is the unofficial start to the summer season. In May, we also often celebrate Shavout, which marks the unofficial end to the major Jewish holiday calendar season, as it is the last of the shalosh regalim; the three pilgrimage festivals (along with Sukkot and Passover) when farmers in ancient Israel brough their first fruits to the Temple in Jerusalem. On Shavout we also read the Ten Commandments to com

April has arrived, and with it comes that magical moment each year when we look around our homes and wonder how on earth so many crumbs accumulated in so many places. It’s Passover season, which means it’s time for deep cleaning, deep reflection, and deep debates about whether last year’s unopened box of matzah is still technically edible. (Spoiler: it is. Matzah has the shelf life of a small asteroid.) But truly, there’s something delightful about this time of year. The days

Happy April Temple Beth Israel, Out of the blue early one morning in the middle of March, I received a text from an old army buddy in Israel. “Hey. I heard what happened outside of Detroit, with the terrorist attack. I know you don’t live anywhere near Michigan, but how are you and your congregation handling all the chaos and craziness?” I’m rather used to receiving the warring texts from Israel in the middle of the night, but I was absolutely flabbergasted to receive a Wh

As we celebrate the spirit of community and renewal this March, it’s important to recognize the extraordinary impact Jewish Americans have had on our nation’s story. Their achievements span every field — from science and the arts to business, education, and public service — and their work continues to shape the character and creativity of our country. Jewish American innovators have expanded the boundaries of knowledge and imagination. Figures such as Jonas Salk , whose pione

Hooray, we have finally reached March, which means spring is right around the corner! After what has been a brutal winter, the coldest in recent memory, we can set our sights to warmer days, more sunshine, the blossoming of flowers, and hopefully less winter weather. At the beginning of the month, we turn the clocks forward and after a few months without major Jewish holidays, we begin to awaken from the festival-less doldrums. As we turn the calendar to March, we usher in t

February is an odd month on the calendar. While there aren’t any major Jewish holidays, the month is filled with humorous attempts by humanity to distract us from the fact that February still feels like the dead of winter. Groundhog Day: A Quirky Tradition Groundhog Day is the quintessential “weather-related” holiday. The entire event focuses on whether a rotund rodent, known as Punxsutawney Phil, is frightened enough by his own shadow to remain burrowed for another six weeks

Happy March Temple Beth Israel, As we turn the calendar to March, we usher in the Hebrew months of Adar , followed by Adar II ; a time according to our rabbis, when we increase our joy each day. As the days pass, we focus our hearts and our souls in preparation for the celebration known as Purim . The Jewish New Year and the Hebrew calendar, Rosh Hashanah , don’t offer the same rowdy, ruckus and light-hearted affair that the Gregorian calendar allows for on Dec.31st/Jan.1st.

The beginning of February is a beautiful time in our Torah’s journey. We often read about the Passover saga, the parting of the Red Sea, and the wonders of receiving the Torah at Sinai. While we read these events in late January or early February, they feel more like Spring holidays- an odd misplaced distortion of time and celebrations. As we have arrived at a point in the Jewish calendar, in-between Tu B’Shevat and Purim, where the peak of winter has reached its darkest, col

Happy January Temple Beth Israel, In what is generally understood to be a quite time on the Jewish calendar, the dead of winter allows us a chance to catch our collective Jewish breaths in between the joyful chaos associated with our Jewish holidays. It was an absolute joy to celebrate Chanukkah together with so many of you, both in our community wide lighting in Trinity Park as well as the Chanukkah party held at Temple Beth Israel. It warmed my heart to see new and familia

Happy December Temple Beth Israel, As we settle into winter, I’d like to concentrate on the concept of community more than I usually...

Good afternoon friends of Temple Beth Israel and the greater Plattsburgh community, We are still in complete shock of Saturday morning’s barbaric attack against Israel. In what should have been a joyous occasion, the holiday of Simchat Torah turned into an unimaginable massacre and the worse loss of Jewish civilian life since the Holocaust. While Israelis and the Israeli Defense Forces begin the hard work of securing their land, we ask for continued communal support during th

Shalom folks, Hopefully everyone is enjoying this beautiful summer weather during our current Fall harvest festival-Sukkot! Here are a few photos from our Pizza Shabbat in the Sukkah, on Friday, Sept. 29th. Thanks to everyone who helped decorate our sukkah and wave the lulav and etrog!

October Film Event 🎬 Prosecuting Evil: The Extraordinary World of Ben Ferencz “The fascinating story of Ben Ferencz—the last surviving Nuremberg prosecutor and lifelong advocate of “law not war.” 10/22 2pm *Discussion will Follow

Shalom everyone, Beginning on Tuesday, October 10th, each week we will explore a modern-ish Jewish philosopher from 5-6pm ONLINE, through...

Welcome Back to the Temple Beth Israel community! As folks return from a busy summer filled with traveling, cookouts, and family gatherings, we here at Temple Beth Israel have been hard at work ramping up for the next year of Jewish life in the greater Plattsburgh area. We are extremely proud of our High Holiday programming. Student Rav-Hazzan, Emily Howard Meyer will once again lead us in melody over Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. We’re very excited to usher in the new year t

Welcome Back folks! Now that we have reached the end of August, I wanted to take an opportunity and revamp the Rabbi's Blog. Hopefully in...

ON THE SCENE: Antisemitism in the North Country MAY 4, 2023 NAJ WIKOFF Columnist Since 2013, the annual number of antisemitic incidents in the United States has tripled, with New York state leading the way with 580 reported last year. Of those, 16% were assaults, roughly 44% were vandalism, and 40% were harassment. About half of the reported cases occurred in public spaces, 84 at Jewish institutions, 78 at private residents, 43 at businesses and the balance at non-Jewish K-1

On Sunday, June 4, Temple Beth Israel will be taking a field trip to Burlington, Vermont to have a tour of the "Lost Mural" and learn...

Insidious Evil Revisited: A Historical Analysis of Antisemitism Throughout the spring, Temple Beth Israel will offer a weekly course, outlining a historical analysis of antisemitism. These informal workshops are designed to educate, generate discussion, and learn more about literature and academic scholarship on the various periods of antisemitism. While literature and follow-up material will be referenced, absolutely no prior knowledge or in-depth expertise are required to l