EDUCATION
-
Spice up your Shabbat schedule with UHC’s new, twice-monthly Havdalah service – United Hebrew Congregation Terre Haute
We are delighted to invite you to a new ritual offering at UHC: a twice-monthly online Havdalah service — a short and meaningful way to close Shabbat together and welcome the week ahead. Our first service will take place at at 7:45 p.m. Saturday, August 9, 2025, via Zoom. Whether Havdalah is familiar to you or brand new, you are…
Read More » -
Cicely, Alaska, is not the end of the journey – United Hebrew Congregation Terre Haute
I’d like to discuss a television show that I loved watching in the mid ’90s. No, I’m not talking about Baywatch. My favorite show was Northern Exposure. The show is a basic fish-out-of-water tale. The main character is a Jewish New York doctor who upon completion of his medical training is set to begin a carefully planned career that would…
Read More » -
For 49 days, we’ve counted the Omer and examined our spiritual selves. Happy Shavuot! – United Hebrew Congregation Terre Haute
Starting on the second night of Passover, we began the period of the Counting of the Omer, which in Jewish tradition helps us with spiritual preparation for our next festival, Shavuot (when we celebrate Moses’s receiving the Law at Mount Sinai). This period represents the time between our liberation from slavery and our formation as a people in covenant with…
Read More » -
The Passover seder dinner means matzoh, wine, bitter herbs and the miracle of the shared meal – United Hebrew Congregation Terre Haute
This year our Passover seder will be celebrated on Saturday, April 12, starting at 6 p.m. We will be led by our rabbi, Jennifer Lewis, and we will have a full seder meal. We will drink the wine; we will break the matzot and eat the bitter herbs. We will celebrate while reclining (at least symbolically) the Exodus from Egypt…
Read More » -
Passover represents a period of change. As Rabbi Nachman said, approach it without fear – United Hebrew Congregation Terre Haute
As we prepare to celebrate Passover together, beginning the evening of Saturday, April 12, we also note the start of the Hebrew month of Nisan. The trees and flowers are finally blooming in Terre Haute (and Cincinnati)! The Festival of Freedom will soon be upon us. And yet, the transitional period from Winter to Spring, beautiful as it may be,…
Read More » -
Trust sound reasoning — that feeling in your gut might just be gas – United Hebrew Congregation Terre Haute
It is generally agreed that truth is a good thing to pursue. Truth is used to provide rationale for policy. Arguably, truth is the basis for laws, governance, and general rules for everything from corporate policies to Temple by-laws. Mark Twain popularized the quote, ‘There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics.’ Mark Twain popularized the quote,…
Read More » -
AI sleuths Ki Tissa while Rabbi Jen notes the Purim tradition of gift-giving and good works – United Hebrew Congregation Terre Haute
As we enter the joyous month of Adar, and in honor of the upside-down silliness often accompanying the holiday of Purim, I asked artificial Intelligence (a.k.a. “AI”) to come up with a Torah teaching for our next Shabbat together that combined sitting in a Starbucks and writing this month’s column. Here is a snippet of the Al version: I asked…
Read More » -
Support, service and guidance are key reasons why I joined the Temple. What are yours? – United Hebrew Congregation Terre Haute
People choose to become members of a religious organization for a variety of reasons. These may include the search for a sense of community, pursuit of spiritual growth or personal accountability, access to support during difficult times, the opportunity to serve others and live by a set of moral values, and to deepen their connection to faith and belief. Religious…
Read More » -
On Tu B’shvat, we contemplate the new growth of nature and our role in sustaining creation – United Hebrew Congregation Terre Haute
Happy Tu B’shvat, the Jewish Birthday of the Trees! This year, the holiday (15 of Shevat on the Jewish calendar) begins on Wednesday evening, Feb. 12, and extends through sundown Thursday, Feb. 13. In Israel — and other areas with a Mediterranean climate — almond trees begin to bloom and spring is in the air. In Israel — and other…
Read More » -
Hanukkah arrives during the darkest days of Kislev, adding joy and warmth to the season – United Hebrew Congregation Terre Haute
The recently concluded week before Thanksgiving gave my Ohio family the opportunity to fly out of town and reunite with relatives on the East Coast for both a simcha (joyous celebration) and an unveiling ceremony (memorial following the one-year anniversary of the death of my beloved Aunt Becky). With gratitude for sharing those occasions with family, my thoughts shifted to…
Read More »