A retrospective By Rabbi Noam Raucher One day, shortly after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai and his student, Rabbi Yehoshua, were walking near the ruins. Seeing what remained of the Temple, Rabbi Yehoshua cried out, “This is terrible! This is where our people came to pray and offer …
Being honest with ourselves By Rabbi Noam Raucher Rosh Hashanah is described as the Jewish new year. Yom Kippur is usually explained as a day of repentance. However, ultimately, between both of them we have 10 days to gain perspective on our lives. For 25 hours, Jewish tradition asks us to step outside the …
Reflections on past, present and future “There is no life without a task; no person without a talent; no place without a fragment of God’s light waiting to be discovered and redeemed; no situation without its possibility of sanctification; no moment without its call. It may take a lifetime to learn how to find these …
Emma Lazarus By Jerry Brodsky You’ve heard the words – “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…” For many of us, our great-great-grandparents or some level of elders on our family tree passed by those words, found on the base of the Statue of Liberty, as …
I scream. You scream. We all scream for… Everyone likes ice cream, right? Well, what do you think the following brands have in common? Ben and Jerry’s, Baskin-Robbins, Häagen-Dazs, and (non-dairy) Tofutti. Yes, they were all developed, founded or co-founded by Jewish entrepreneurs. Here’s the SCOOP:1. Interestingly enough, Häagen-Dazs was created in 1959 by Reuben …
Rabbi Noam Raucher, MA.Ed – Executive Director, FJMC International One of the easiest things in life is to know what kind of person you want to be. One of the hardest is to become that person. Most of us have little trouble naming our values. We believe in honesty, loyalty, generosity, fairness and compassion. We want to …
Rabbi Noam Raucher, MA.Ed – Executive Director, FJMC International Family life is messy at worst and meaningful at best. Parent-child relationships are not as easy to navigate as one might think. Just because parent and child might share a genetics or an emotional bond, that does not mean they both inherently connect with, or understand, one …
Hearing Men’s Voices: Eat Your Ice Cream by Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel Format: 60–90 minutes. Opening check-in, 8 discussion questions, closing round. In its original form, this was delivered in a “Walk and Talk” manner so that participants went for a nice walk outdoors and stopping along the way to respond to each question. This put …
On August 9, 2026, the Congregation Neveh Shalom Men’s Club held our 2nd Annual Summer 5K walk/run fundraiser to benefit the Congregation Neveh Shalom Food Pantry. Participants gathered on a perfect August morning at one of the Portland area’s most beautiful nature trails to walk or run a true 5K, while others participated “virtually” at …
FJMC International 2027 ConventionWestin St. Francis Hotel, San Francisco, on Union SquareJuly 8-11, 2027Jay Steinmetz, Chair PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDARS!! July 8-11, 2027~ But come early and stay late…we are offering pre- and post-convention hotel rooms at convention-discounted pricing, from Tuesday, July 6 through Monday, July 13. Greetings from Jay Steinmetz, Convention Chair and Rob …
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