Torah Geek

Selfie with Rabbi Barry Lutz Yesterday my congregation, Temple Ahavat Shalom , participated in the Jewish World Watch Walk to End Genocide . The TAS team was the largest it has ever been, with more than 70 participants raising more than $2,000 for Jewish World Watch.  TASTY at the Walk This year there were more than 3,000 participants, all gathered in Los Angeles’s Pan Pacific Park to start the walk. It was such a joy to see so many Jews gathered in one place, working together to make the world a better place and to alleviate the suffering of others. “Never forget” means not taking our power for granted and remembering that together we can make a difference and save lives.  But it was not just Jews participating. There were many other groups walking with us, including “Burmese Muslims Against Genocide.” That others would participate in an event with Jewish in the title (though this was not a Jewish event, but a human one) gives me hope — hope that we can come...

How many of you have ever forgotten a birthday or an anniversary?  There’s an app for that. Most phones these days will remember your loved ones’ birthdays and anniversaries and remind you to say happy birthday. You can even ask for a reminder a week in advance, giving yourself time to write a card or buy a gift. This Shabbat, Shabbat HaHodesh, is the equivalent of that email reminding you that you have a meeting. FYI: the meeting is in two weeks, and you’ll need plenty of apples, nuts and wine. Yes, Shabbat HaHodesh reminds us that we need to get ready for Pesach, but as Reform Jews we may not be as concerned with the Pesach halacha – the laws surrounding Pesach – as we should be about other things. Most of us are not getting out the second set of dishes and kashering the oven. Instead, we begin a different type of preparation. Well, we do IF we get the reminder. And since tonight is the start of the month of Nisan, the alarm has just gone off. That i...