Synagogue Life

Secular Humanists Celebrate 10 Years of Going Their Own Way

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For years, Cheltenham resident Larry Angert attended services practically every Shabbat, and found joy in the music and rituals, even as he struggled with the theological content of the liturgy. The 57-year-old grew up in the Conservative movement, tutored Bar Mitzvah students and sent his daughter to Jewish day school. But, roughly 13 years ago, Angert said he came to...

Synagogue Life

Torah Ornaments Stolen From Beth Sholom

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Michelle Mostovy-Eisenberg, JE Feature

On Friday, Sept. 5, Shalom Zachmy, the ritual director of Beth Sholom Congregation in Elkins Park, began preparing the Torah scrolls for the first Bat Mitzvah service of the new season, when he noticed that a substantial number of the silver adornments were missing from the arks in the main and sisterhood sanctuaries, as well as from the chapel. The...

Synagogue Life

A Playground Castle for Sara

Congregation Adath Jeshurun recently hosted a fundraising event to help build a castle on the synagogue playground in memory of Sara Burke, a preschooler who passed away in May after a battle with cancer. The castle-memorial will be based on a picture Sara drew in class. Sara's grandfather, Arthur Davis, is shown holding Max Goldman as he places his donation...

Synagogue Life

Rabbis Set to Explore an Array of Themes in High Holiday Sermons

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Jewish Exponent Staff

Rabbi Julie Greenberg's 18-year-old son Raffi had an usual request for his milestone birthday: The Yale University freshman asked for a collection of his mother's sermons. Greenberg -- religious leader for the past seven years at Congregation Leyv Ha-Ir "Heart of the City," a Reconstructionist Synagogue -- hadn't exactly kept past sermons in a neat file, virtual or otherwise, and...

Synagogue Life

Cancer Scare Gave Him a Goal

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Aaron Passman

Growing up in the San Francisco Bay area, Joshua Kalev had an unusual pastime. "As a child, I used to arrange my stuffed animals as a congregation and lead services for them," he said. "I was always in awe of my rabbi and what he got to do." Kalev, who now leads Tiferet Bet Israel in Blue Bell, said he'd...