Renewing Torah: A Blessing for the Month of Sivan

Rosh Hodesh Sivan | ראש חודש סיון

Blessing for the Month of Sivan: A Listening Silence in the Soul

By Rabbi Sharon Cohen Anisfeld, President of Hebrew College

Last night, 350 people from throughout the Greater Boston community gathered on our new shared campus in Newton, for a beautiful evening of song with Joey Weisenberg, the Founder of Hadar’s Rising Song Institute.The singing was sweet, soulful, sublime. But it was the silences between the songs that I will remember for a very long time.

At the beginning of the evening, each song was followed by robust applause. People were delighted to be together, and the energy was high. But gradually, I noticed, something else started to happen. A song would end, and the silence afterwards trembled with a kind of vibrating stillness. No one wanted to interrupt that silence. It occurred to me at some point that, together, we had moved from performance into prayer...

Dolphin Skins and Aluminum Foil; A Legacy of Wanderers

Parashat Bamidbar (Number 1:1-4:20)

By Rabbi Shira Shazeer `10, Learning Center Instructor at Gann Academy

I don’t like packing. While there is something satisfying about the moment when I am done packing, it rarely outweighs the unpleasantness of the task itself. Having fewer occasions that require packing was perhaps one of the silver linings of the pandemic. When my family prepares for a journey, though everyone helps gather things, I do more than my share of the planning and the actual work of loading things into suitcases, boxes and bags, and then into the car. Typically when I finish packing, several hours after I hoped to be done, I tell my family, “You all go and have fun. I’m worn out. I think I’ll stay here and recover.” The longer the journey, the more potentialities it requires, the harder and more exhausting the packing becomes. While I always relent, and usually feel better a short way down the road, I often wonder whether the journey will be worth the work it takes to get going.

Inaugural shared campus Tikkun Leyl Shavuot focuses on questions related to identity and faith

“[Inspired by] Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel and many other[s] who devoted their lives to... faith and justice, we believe that learning and partnering with the Black community and other communities of faith is one of the most important ways [we] engage in our most sacred work of seeking God’s presence, finding purpose in our lives, and standing up for our most cherished values.” — Rabbi Daniel Berman`10, who will co-teach the workshop "On Race and Faith"

Study with Temple Reyim spiritual leader Rabbi Berman, Hebrew College faculty, and guests as Hebrew College and Temple Reyim celebrate the Jewish tradition of Tikkun Leyl Shavuot for the first time on our new shared campus along with our other supporting partners. Workshops range from family activities and text study to poetry, music, and interreligious dialogues. Our celebration begins on May 25 at 6 p.m. and ends at midnight—learners of all ages are invited to join us for all or part of the evening.