Rabbi Knopf's Blog

Temple Beth-El

Dear friends,

Over the past few years, we've been striving to make Temple Beth-El more inclusive, supportive, and deeply intertwined, a community where we inspire each other to grow Jewishly, flourish personally, and build a better world. This vision is based on a recognition that every person, not just the rabbi, has Torah to teach, that each of us has wisdom to share. That's why, beginning this summer, I am inviting congregants to share words of Torah at Shabbat morning services. I first extended this opportunity to members of our board, and was overwhelmed by the response. Currently, we have guest speakers lined up for every Shabbat morning service this summer, except for one (August 12 is still available; if you're interested in taking it, please let me know). Our first guest speaker will be Harry Hirsch, who will teach about Parashat Balak during services this Saturday morning.

Looking beyond this summer, I'd like to extend the same invitation to everyone in our congregation. If you would like to share some words of Torah with our community, please send me an email at rabbi.knopf@bethelrichmond.org and we will set a date.  If you've never delivered a D'var Torah before, it's pretty simple. A D'var Torah is a speech that teaches a lesson from Jewish text (ideally derived from the weekly Torah portion, but not mandatory) and applies that lesson to real life. It can be anywhere from 5 minutes to 15 minutes long (approx. 500-1500 words). Easy peasy. It's a great exercise, one that will enable you to learn a lot and to allow others to learn from you.

I hope some of you will consider this offer and share your Torah with our community. And, whether or not you volunteer to teach, I hope you will join us as we learn and grow together.

With prayers peace and friendship,
Rabbi Knopf

Temple Beth-El
3330 Grove Avenue
Richmond, VA 23221

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