Celebrating Together, But Apart
12/02/2020 11:10:11 AM
December is a big celebration month around BHA - in addition to our Bicycle Menorah and Menorah Meander (for members only) we celebrate the birthdays of both Cantor Ellen and Rabbi Brent. Take a moment to check out this little video from our favorite members of the puppet clergy and help us all celebrate together, but apart.
Donate to the BHA Kol Nidrei Campaign below:
Loss and Longing at Thanksgiving
11/24/2020 06:18:53 PM
This is a hard Thanksgiving.
At a certain level, every Thanksgiving is hard, saturated with a whitewashed myth of brotherly love between Native peoples and European colonists. More information about the history of thanksgiving can be found here.
Read more...
Rolling into Kislev
11/18/2020 04:26:21 PM
Dear Friends:
One of the most wonderful Jewish legends teaches that despite setbacks, the world endures thanks to the efforts of 36 hidden righteous people. They are known as the lamed vav tzadikim, and not only do we not know who they are, but they don’t know who they...Read more...
Pretender to the Throne
11/11/2020 12:17:23 PM
Thousands of years ago, when the reign of King David was coming to an end, there was a succession problem which we read about in this weeks haftorah.
Adonia, David’s vain and self-centered son, declared himself king, despite having no authority to do so. As is often the case with...Read more...
Chaisidic Stories with Paul Davidovits
10/28/2020 04:57:06 PM
The Jewish tradition has always had a dual understanding of Torah - there is the written Torah and there is the oral Torah.
The written Torah is the established words of the Tanach - the stories of the patriarchs and matriarchs, the teachings of the prophets, the poetry of the Psalms.
The Oral Torah is the Jewish history of discussions and elaborations and fables inspired by the Written Torah.
The Written Torah is fixed for all time; the Oral Torah is renewed in every generation, and in this generation, we are lucky enough to have our own Paul Davidovits, sharing some incredible Oral Torah.
Paul, who was born and raised in Europe before the war, is sharing some Chasidic Tales so that this old Torah can once again be new in our ears and in our hearts. Take a listen below for an incredible story of the Besht, the "founder," so to speak, of Chasidism and join us next week to hear the story live, or look for the next recording on our facebook page and our YouTube channel.
A Quarter of the Way There
10/21/2020 12:31:13 PM
There is no easy way to put this: the financial convulsions that we as a country are going through affect every one of us individually and they affect Beacon Hebrew Alliance as well.
When businesses started shuttering and people started losing jobs and income in the spring, we...Read more...
BHA Blood Drive & Member Picnic at Lewis Tompkins Fire Station
10/14/2020 01:21:33 PM
BHA Blood Drive at Lewis Tompkins Hose Fire Station
There is an urgent need for donated blood, to signup visit: www.nybc.org or call 1-800-933-2566.
Register for the BHA Members Picnic: you can sign up for one of three shifts throughout the day. We are limited to 50 people in the parking lot at one time, please adhere to the time of day you register for.
BHA Member's Picnic 11am-12:30pm Shift
BHA Member's Picnic 1pm-2:30pm Shift
BHA Member's Picnic 3pm-4:30pm Shift
Learning Opportunities
10/07/2020 02:27:12 PM
I’m excited to share some learning opportunities starting up soon! One is for children, two are for adults.
Videos From the Days of Awe
09/30/2020 04:58:22 PM
I hope you found the Days of Awe to be inspiring and renewing, whether you celebrated them with BHA, another community around the world, or in the quiet privacy of your own thoughts.
I want to share here some of the videos from the Days of Awe and then also some resources that might be of use in celebrating Sukkot.
All of the BHA videos from Yom Kippor and Rosh Hashona are accessible on our YouTube channel, including:
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Susan Alperstein’s Yom Kipopr teaching on the power of words
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Rabbi Carol Davidson’s Yom Kippor teaching on learning from mistakes
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Sarah Mencher’s Yom Kippor teaching on defining relationships
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Alison Spodek’s Yom Kippor teaching on remembering loved ones
As far as Sukkot, we are sadly not having Open to the Sky this year, but thanks to Deb Davidovits and Matt Harle, the sukkah at BHA is up. Members are welcome to sign up to visit the BHA Sukkah and shake the lulav and esrog by visiting the BHA Members Only Page to access the link.
Of course, it is also great to build your own sukkah in your back yard or deck. They are, by definition, flimsy and rickety, so don’t worry if your building skills are rusty or non-existent. There are some great instructions on-line from PJ Library, My Jewish Learning and Mayim Bialik. Even if you have never done it before, I suggest you give it a shot - it’s virtually impossible to do it wrong, and it can be fun for kids and adults alike!
With blessings for a year of health, peace and courage,
Rabbi Brent
These Days of Awe
09/23/2020 04:23:32 PM
This year we have been marking the Days of Awe in new and unexpected ways.
We celebrated Rosh Hashona on line, and even if you weren't able to join us, you can still hear Rabbi Brent’s teaching and Cantor Ellen’s davening on You Tube, as well as community Torah from Donna Minkowitz, Dan Tanaka, Enid Schwartz, Eli Karetny, Sergio Perez, David Ross, Christine Pincus, Karen Rosenbaum, Mark Ungar and Ashley Baker.
On Sunday afternoon, we gathered at Long Dock with faces covered and shofars blown from kayaks in the water, to ensure adequate distance all around. If you weren't able to join us, you can see some of the highlights here.
Yom Kippor begins this Sunday evening and continues into Monday evening. BHA members will be receiving an email with all of the relevant information; we welcome our guests (non-members) who wish to take part in our services to register here.
