The westernmost member of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
Keeping a Promise and Tomorrow’s God: The Hebrew Lord in an Age of Science
By Judith Goldman
The Robert Goldman family – Bob z’l, Judy, 3 year-old Lita and 6-month-old Erica, came to Honolulu in 1972, to see if we’d like living here. Hawaii has much to offer a young family, but for us,… Continue reading
A Snowbird’s Rosh HaShanah or Norman Rockwell Made it Look Easy
by Les Rosenthal
If we lived in Eutopia, preparing for the High Holidays with my wife, Pat, and our adult children, Katie and Kerri, when both adult daughters live within driving distance would be easy and enjoyable. Not so much… Continue reading
High Holy Days Challah
By Peter Fritz
All year long our challah is braided, but it is round for Rosh Hashanah. What does the challah’s shape teach us about this special time of year?
There are many explanations. Round challahs have no end, symbolizing… Continue reading
Forbidden Fruit, Rosh Hashanah, and Our Environment
By Rabbi Natan Margalit
According to Hasidic traditions, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, from the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, worked in a deeper way than we usually think about it. It’s… Continue reading
Quotes from Sof
Sof Maʻarav evokes strong emotion from its membership. Here are some quotes that show how our members feel.
| Gayle Goodman
Sof Ma’arav is like being part of a dance where we all come together, like a beautiful symphony where the… Continue reading |
Rabbi Rosalind Bio
Ordained at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (RRC) in 2003, Rabbi Rosalind Glazer made Aliyah in 2012. After moving to Jerusalem to serve as Interim Director for RRC’s rabbinical program in Israel, she founded Joyful Jerusalem Lifecycles and Destination Celebrations where… Continue reading
High Holy Days at Sof
Message from Rabbi Rosalind Glazer
Dear Friends,
I write to you from my home office in Jerusalem as I watch the summer sun slip away and I begin feeling the pivot toward Elul. With the final month of the Jewish… Continue reading
The Meaning of Each Braid
By Peter Fritz
Recently, I made several braided round challahs. Some people may have wondered why. After all, it is not Rosh Hashanah. I often make round braided challahs for events like bar/bat mitzvahs, baby naming and weddings because it… Continue reading
To Seek Life: Upon My Mother’s Yahrzeit, I Remember
By Sandra Z. Armstrong
I was born Sandra Zimmerman, with a ventricular septal defect (VSD) – a hole in my heart. For some born with a VSD, the hole closes naturally. Mine did not. In 1922, Dora Moness Shapiro established… Continue reading
Holy Cow! – Parsha Chukat
By Naomi Olstein
While parsha Chukat deals with many topics, it begins with parah adumah, the red heifer. It is the most enigmatic mitzvah in all of Torah. More than a mitzvah, it is chukat haTorah – Law of the… Continue reading