This Kabbalat Shabbat, Jim Lederman - the longest serving Jerusalem based foreign correspondent - came to speak to us. He captivated everyone present with the depth of his erudition and the breadth of his perspective on Israel, the Middle East, and the larger world order. He reminded us that the tail of history is long and that we can only understand and face our present while glancing backwards. An audience of Jews should need no reminder of this, but it serves as a necessary corrective to the seduction of present-ism. He promised he would post his lecture on his blog in a few weeks but in the meanwhile you can explore Jim's thinking here: Jim Lederman's Blog.
By the by, this Shabbat the energy in our sanctuary was palpable. Carla Silver served as our chazzan sheni, standing in for our cantor. Many many thanks to her for making our evening full of warmth and spirit. I felt in some small way we lived up to our name Emanu-El, Ha Shem was dwelling with us.
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