Scott Skillman

Scott Skillman is past president of UHC Terre Haute.

The Passover seder dinner means matzoh, wine, bitter herbs and the miracle of the shared meal

By Scott Skillman
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This year our Passover seder will be celebrated on Saturday, April 12, starting at 6 p.m. We will be led by our rabbi, Jennifer Lewis, and we will have a full seder meal. We will drink the wine; we will break the matzot and eat the bitter herbs.

We will celebrate while reclining (at least symbolically) the Exodus from Egypt and the miracles performed at that time, at that place. Those miracles are well retold in the seder, and the awesomeness of the Lord will be recounted.

But there is another miracle that arises from the seder that is not often considered. The miracle that I wish for us to consider is the sharing of a meal within our small community and, often, with the larger community. The miracle I speak of is the shared meal. The sharing of a meal has great power for all who attend.

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Truth for our time: Trust sound reasoning — that feeling in your gut might just be gas

By Scott Skillman
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It is generally agreed that truth is a good thing to pursue.

Truth is used to provide rationale for policy. Arguably, truth is the basis for laws, governance, and general rules for everything from corporate policies to Temple by-laws.

Mark Twain popularized the quote, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics.” This rather obviously warns that facts and statistics can be used to push for actions that are not virtuous, but preferred. In more modern times, the concept of “truthiness” has been used to describe the distinction between facts as they are versus facts as we want them to be.

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Support, service and guidance are key reasons why I joined the Temple. What are yours?

By Scott Skillman
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People choose to become members of a religious organization for a variety of reasons. These may include the search for a sense of community, pursuit of spiritual growth or personal accountability, access to support during difficult times, the opportunity to serve others and live by a set of moral values, and to deepen their connection to faith and belief.

Essentially, they seek a group that provides a framework for living a meaningful life.

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Rabbi Emil Leipziger repudiated violence as he mourned Ida Finkelstein and George Ward

By Scott Skillman
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On February 27, 1901, Rabbi Emil Leipziger led a group in solemn prayer. Still in his early 20s and just a year into his term at reform congregation Temple Israel in Terre Haute, Rabbi Leipziger now presided over the funeral of a Jewish woman barely three years younger than himself.

The rabbi mourned along with a shocked community dealing with tragic loss. And yet, when he said, “Let us repudiate this act of violence,” he did not speak only of the murdered Ida Finkelstein.

He was speaking about a historic, criminal act perpetrated by Terre Haute’s citizens in the lynching of Finkelstein’s accused murderer, a Black man named George Ward.

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