Rabbi Diana's Weekly Message

Due to technical glitches, many of the 2020-2023 messages failed to appear.  We are working on the issue by re-posting  the e-mails, from most recent to oldest.

Dear Hevre,

There are two subjects I would like to share with you.

The whole world, the Jewish world and in particular the disability rights world, lost a warrior activist and teacher this week with the sudden death of Judith Heumann, of blessed memory.

You can read her obituary in the New York Times: Judy...Read more...

Dear Hevre, I’m concerned and heartbroken to hear what is happening with Israelis and Palestinians. I’m sharing the statement by Reconstructing Judaism and the RRA, as well as one by the group T’ruah: the rabbinic call for human rights, of which I am a member, concerning all the violence taking place in Israel and in Palestine.

We must condemn all of these acts of terrorism and...Read more...

Dear Hevre,

We are going about our days and certain parts of our lives seem stable. We hold certain things to be true and feel them as permanent. And that’s a good thing. We need to rest in that, at least have some pretense that change isn’t always happening. I know I do. And then things change. In this case, your rabbi lets you know that she will be leaving the area next year....Read more...

Dear Hevre, 

Today is International Holocaust Remembrance day, the day the UN General Assembly chose to mark the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1945. This is distinguished from Yom HaShoah/Holocaust Remembrance day which marks the beginning of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of 1943, when Jewish resistance fighters fought against the Nazis. Today is an...Read more...

Dear Hevre,

There are so many ways to stay connected and to be part of our community. In this month of Tevet, we must carry the memory of the lights of Chanukah into the rest of these next few months as we slowly begin to move into more light and the time when the Earth will begin to blossom again. It’s good for our souls to help others in need and to partake of the holiness and...Read more...

Shabbat Shalom, Happy Chanukah, Chodesh Tov and Merry Christmas for those who celebrate. 

I look forward to seeing you at 7:00 pm on Zoom for our musical Chanukah Kabbalat Shabbat service. Please bring your menorah and Shabbat candles if you have them. 

The Zoom link is: 

See you soon!

Rabbi Diana

Dear Hevre,

We live our lives each week, with constant news coming our way and swirling thoughts within us. Occasionally, we take a breath during it all, perhaps meditate, pray, say a blessing. No matter what we do, we cannot ignore how disturbing some of the news is, as it has been lately reminding us that antisemitic ideas as well as other hatreds proliferate. I...Read more...

Dear Hevre,

We have understandably been focused on the recent mid-term elections here in the United States. Many of us also have questions and concerns about what's going to happen as the new government in Israel forms and takes office, likely in the days or weeks ahead. Several progressive Zionist organizations and their leaders expressed grave concerns about the likelihood of...Read more...

Dear Hevre,

We have finished the whole fall holiday cycle with great attendance in person and on Zoom. Thank you again to all those who prepared, organized and participated in every aspect of the high holidays. It takes a village, and we have a special one at the Little Shul.

We are back to Breishit, to Genesis, in our weekly Torah portion. It is in...Read more...

Dear Hevre,

I’m still basking in the joy of the gathering Scott and my friends and family together for our wedding after which Scott and I enjoyed four days on Cape Cod. [I'm actually still also revved up from Adirchai's visit and having an aufruf with our KHN community!] I’m energized and inspired by this gorgeous September weather, and all the blessings of our...Read more...

Dear Hevre, 

I am so happy to be back with our community. Thank you to our wonderful lay-leaders, Andy, Anita and Lynne, who led services this month. You too can lead services whenever you would like. Please let me know if you would like to learn more skills to that end. I love that we are a participatory community. 

I can’t say that my...Read more...

ear Hevre,

This evening, our speaker Veronica Laputska will speak BEFORE we have our shortened services so please come inside or on Zoom before 7:00 pm so that you can be there for the beginning of the program. Unless you are coming in person, please register beforehand at:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEtcOCrqzMuEtJa4M9w6I9Gb2CHrrB327TGRead more...

Dear Hevre,

I just this moment learned about the fall of Roe V. Wade. I am sad, furious, aghast and not at all surprised. The National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) has been preparing for this day and they will be hosting a Jewish community vigil over Zoom at 4:00 pm today. This will be a space to mourn this loss Jewishly, and for holding the collective outrage and the anxiety...Read more...

Dear Hevre,

In this week’s Torah portion we encounter the ancient Priestly Blessing:

May the Eternal bless you and protect you.

May the Eternal shine Divine light upon you and be gracious to you.

May the...Read more...

Dear Hevre,

We will require masks again inside KHN as the CDC has designated the risk of transmission of COVID in Bucks County as HIGH. There will not be an Oneg this evening since it may rain and we couldn’t have it outside. We will re-evaluate as we follow recommendations. There will continue to be Zoom access. 

Ideas can be powerful....Read more...

Dear Chevre,

It often feels as if the world in on fire. The climate crisis worsens, reproductive rights are at risk, there is violence in Israel, the war in Ukraine lingers on. We need to face these crises head on with our words, actions and resources.

We also need to rest: turn off the news, spend uninterrupted time with friends, family and...Read more...

Dear Hevre,

As a community, this will be the first time that we are joining together in person (with Zoom access) where we will be mask-optional. There will even be an Oneg! Some of us are more than ready for this option, and some of us are not ready. 

We have been isolated from...Read more...

Dear Chevre, 

I hope that you had a joyous Purim! If you did not get a chance to join KHN in person or online, you can watch the recording and enjoy Rabbi Jonah’s fantastically creative offerings as well as the Megillah readings and musical talents of many in our community: https://www.kehilathanahar.org/purim2022

Like many of...Read more...

“Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder.

Help someone’s soul heal.

Walk out of your house, like a shepherd.”

Jalal al-Din Rumi

Cry aloud; do not be silent. Lift up your voice like a shofar. — Isaiah 58:1 

Dear Chevre, 

Read more...

Dear Chevre,

Sometimes we feel weighed down by our responsibilities, overwhelmed by how much we have to do. No space exists between our thoughts which adds to the feeling of being weighted down, with no refreshing breeze able to enter.

In this week’s Torah portion, Parshat Ki Tissa, when Moses comes down the mountain and sees the Israelites dancing...Read more...

Va'asu li mikdash, v'shochanti b'tocham: Let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them. Exodus 25:8

Dear Chevre, 

As we mature into adults [a process which hopefully continues throughout our lifetime!], we need to untangle ourselves from narrow places and habits, we need to make ourselves open to hearing wisdom from...Read more...

Beloved Chevre,

We enter Shabbat again, exhaling. Just a week ago, Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas experienced an acutely distressing marathon day that was felt by Jewish communities around the country and the world. Earlier today I was on a phone call with the White House along with thousands of clergy which was led by several professionals and officials...Read more...

Dear Chevre, 

We mourn the tragic death of 13 Philadelphians, eight of them children. As a way to honor their memories and to ensure future life, let us all check our smoke detectors. 

As we are facing a time in our country when we are looking for thoughtful, determined leadership, I am reminded of a prayer that I find meaningful called...Read more...

You get the sense that it’s possible simply to go through life noticing things and writing them down and that this is OK, it’s worth doing. That the seemingly insignificant things that most of us spend our days noticing are really significant, have meaning, and tell us something. – The Paris Review interview (2006) Joan Didion, z’l.

Dear Chevre,

Read more...

Dear KHN Chevre,

***Just a reminder that we are not having services through KHN this evening. We will be joining other Reconstructionist communities. Please sign up before 5 pm to gain a password. Zoom services begin at 8:00 pm this evening. Meeting ID: 441 857 610. To receive the password, please send an email to info@adatshalom.net 

As we...Read more...

Dear Chevre,

To all of our KHN members and family members who are veterans of military service: Thank you for protecting and defending our country and our democracy.

This week was the 83rd anniversary of Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass, which took place on November 9th and 10th, 1938 in Nazi Germany. Jewish homes, hospitals, schools and...Read more...