The brain-teasing puzzle is the latest form of pandemic-era self-soothing By Sarah Pulliam Bailey The Washington Post ____________________________________________ In the beginning, Americans created sourdough starters. As people looked for rituals to cope with the early uncertainties of the pandemic, many bought Peloton bikes, built gardens and watched “Tiger King.” And in Brooklyn, a software engineer said: Continue Reading »
Washington Jewish Week 3 MoCo synagogues combine their religious schools Three Montgomery County synagogues have combined their religious schools, bringing 110 students together under a single roof in the fall. The three participating synagogues — Kol Shalom and Tikvat Israel Congregation in Rockville and Shaare Torah in Gaithersburg — formed B’Yachad Community Religious School, and hired Rabbi Batya Glazer as director. Glazer Continue Reading »
Leib Kaminsky My burgeoning love of the environment began during a 1978 Muppets’ television special. It featured Buffalo Springfield singing “For What It’s Worth,” parodying the original song using Muppet animals. The song’s refrain: “Everybody stop! Hey! What’s that sound? Everybody look what’s going down” brought a connection of my values (the love of wildlife) Continue Reading »
In this article Rabbi Steinlauf shares his reflections on the Jewish Identity Institute that he initiated and developed. The Jewish Identity Institute just completed its first year with three cohort groups. Please take a moment to read this article and learn more about the Jewish Identity Institute. ____________________ At first, it could have been just Continue Reading »
All of us at Kol Shalom are saddened and sickened by the violence that has unfolded in Our Nation’s Capital. At a time when there are so many people suffering in a pandemic, this should be a moment of national unity and healing. Instead, a culture of division has led to this historic attack on Continue Reading »
The Shabbat after the election, Joe Biden was proclaimed to be the winner, and there was a collective moment of relief and joy for so many in my congregation. I simply couldn’t contain my joy, and neither could most of us at the end of our Zoom services that morning. Around the country, countless people Continue Reading »
We want to give a special thank you to our wonderful members Shofar blowers – Darón & Char Freedberg Photography – Lewis Schrager Video recording – Sari Kaye
With only five percent of the world’s population, the United States has 25 percent of its prisoners. In per capita terms, our nation incarcerated eight to ten times as many people as other western democracies. The burden falls overwhelmingly on minorities. In this talk, Alan Elsner will examine the roots of this dysfunctional system, the Continue Reading »
By analyzing the leadership skills of seven recent US presidents, KS member Michael Eric Siegel seeks to de-mystify the elements and dynamics of effective presidential leadership and help citizens assess presidential candidates. Siegel shows that presidential leadership is exercised by real, flawed human beings, and not by superheroes or philosopher-kings beyond the reach of scrutiny Continue Reading »