Bylined opinion and news columns published by United Hebrew Congregation Terre Haute.
As active as our congregation remained during the period of Zoom-only, and then hybrid worship, we hadn’t held a large social gathering since Purim in March 2020.
That changed April 23 with our Passover Celebration in the Vestry Room at the Temple.
More than 20 people attended in person and more attended online. As United Hebrew Congregation moves forward from the pandemic, we have learned more than ever that we can be engaged in multiple ways.
Every spring, we gather to retell the story of our ancestors’ liberation from slavery in Egypt.
We are reminded that our ancestors cried out to God in their suffering and were freed through a series of miracles and wonders performed by God through Moses.
But the story doesn’t end when our seder ends, does it?
As I prepared to give a talk for Women’s History Month at Indiana State University on the two women who received the Nobel Prize in Economics, Elinor Ostrom and Esther Duflo, I also reflected on a memoir I read a few years ago by the economist Myra Strober.
Strober’s memoir Sharing the Work: What My Family and Career Taught Me about Breaking Through (and Holding the Door Open for Others) tells of her experiences earning her PhD in Economics during the late ’60s at MIT, at a time when even fewer women worked in the field.
The Hebrew month of Adar is supposed to be an incredibly joyous time. Our sages teach us that as the month of Adar begins, no matter how we may be feeling about life, we are to increase our joy.
But what happens when the commandment to be joyous meets the reality of loss, sorrow and pain? On Feb. 17, our community and our world lost an absolute tzadik, Walter Sommers.
Walter was one of those rare humans who loved everyone. It didn’t matter who you were or where you came from, Walter wanted to take the time to get to know you and be your friend.