August 2025 Dear Friends, We are in agony as we continue to confront the staggering and relentless costs of war borne by the people of Israel and the people of Gaza. Last week, we marked Tisha B’Av – a day set aside to commemorate and reflect on the long history of destruction and trauma experienced Continue Reading »
By Steven R. Weisman If music is “proof of the existence of God,” as Kurt Vonnegut Jr. said, music has long been central to the worship experience at Temple Micah. Rabbi Healy Slakman’s arrival two years ago as Director of Spiritual Arts ushered in bold innovations, building on Micah’s beloved music traditions. It would be Continue Reading »
By Rabbi Daniel G. Zemel Retiring has inspired me to think about what I have been doing at Micah these many years. I don’t mean the obvious things: leading prayer, officiating at lifecycle moments, teaching, sermonizing, meeting (many meetings), writing Vine letters, and everything else that might go into a rabbinical job description. I am Continue Reading »
By Betsy Broder No, not Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder scheming a Broadway flop, but those who labor behind the scenes at Temple Micah and make things happen. During this year of celebrating Rabbi Zemel, Louise and the entire Zemel family, the producers of our marquee events have delivered hit after hit, and will continue Continue Reading »
By Rabbi Josh Beraha They say a sermon shouldn’t introduce something entirely new, and that a preacher’s role is not to surprise, but to remind or inspire. That’s the meaning of the phrase “preaching to the choir,” because, presumably, the choir already knows the message. But the truth is, the choir still needs to remember Continue Reading »
By Sharon Tash, Director of Education Things have changed for Jewish education in 2025 yet they remain recognizable. Once upon a time, students came multiple times a week to religious school (yes, even schools affiliated with the Reform movement). Classes were dull and teachers drilled Hebrew so that students could learn to recite liturgy. Most Continue Reading »
Rabbi Daniel G. Zemel Sermons and Tributes Order your copy today!* To mark Rabbi Daniel G. Zemel’s retirement after more than 40 years as the visionary leader of Temple Micah, we offer this second volume of his writings, A Time to Reflect. Complementing A Time to Speak (2019), this updated collection includes Rabbi Zemel’s ongoing explorations of his evolving Continue Reading »
February 13, 2025 Dear Friends, Today is Tu b’Shvat, what the Mishna calls the New Year for the trees. This is not a holiday I usually think about a great deal, although I have fond memories of all of those tree certificates from the Jewish National Fund symbolizing the trees “I” planted in Israel. This Continue Reading »
February 2025 Dear Friends, We are thrilled to share the news that we have hired our top candidate to serve as our interim rabbi during our transition year following Rabbi Zemel’s retirement. Rabbi Dr. Kari Tuling will join our rabbinic team on July 1, 2025 and serve until June 30, 2026, at which time we Continue Reading »
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January 21, 2025 Dear Friends, There are times when history seems to come at us in waves. On Sunday, we wept with joy as Emily Damari, Romi Gonen, and Doron Steinbrecher went from captivity to freedom. We watched families reunited. The words we teach, that saving a life is the equivalent of saving an entire Continue Reading »
January 13, 2025 We’re happy to update you on the latest developments on our transition year. Members, please login to ShulCloud to read the full update with detailed information. Since our last update in November, we have focused on the following three aspects of our transition: Interim Rabbi Search: The Interim Rabbi Search Committee continues to interview candidates to serve our community Continue Reading »
December 2024 Dear Temple Micah Members and Former Members, As part of our celebration of Rabbi Zemel ahead of his retirement, we are making a memory book. But we can’t make a memory book without memories — specifically, your memories! Beginning on Monday, January 27, 2025, we’ll be soliciting memories for the book. Please complete Continue Reading »
Friendship Place asks for your help to make holiday wishes come true for a whole family! Gifts will be provided to children living in temporary housing for families experiencing homelessness. To participate, please: Select a gift from the SignUp Genius Go to the retailer of your choice to purchase the gift (please limit your purchase Continue Reading »
November 2024 Dear Friends, As we reflect on the past year, Temple Micah has strived to be a source of strength and comfort – a home – through challenging times. Now we are preparing for a momentous event in the life of our congregation: the bittersweet retirement of our beloved Rabbi Zemel. Through it all, Continue Reading »
Do you want to learn how to read Hebrew and chant Torah? Do you hope to deepen your feeling of connection to a community? Do you want to expand your thinking on a myriad of Jewish topics and have thought provoking discussions? If you answered, “Yes!” to these questions, we invite you to join our Continue Reading »
November 6, 2024 Dear Friends, Many of us woke up this morning to a sense of dread and the return to a reality that many had struggled to put behind us. We are a divided country and “a house divided.” For the third presidential election in a row, half our nation celebrates while half of Continue Reading »
