When I was nine years old, I was hired to be the boy alto in a choir that accompanied the cantor at High Holy Day services in Orthodox synagogues. To this day, I still remember a lot of the music we sang: the unison passages, the harmonies, my little solos and especially the rousing music […]
Feliz año nuevo dulce y tranquilo. Como hice en el servicio de anoche, los saludo nuevamente esta mañana con mi deseo para el nuevo año: Que éste sea un año bueno para todos nosotros, un año de salud y felicidad, de crecimiento espiritual y moral, un año de satisfacción , del cumplimiento y de la […]
Feliz nuevo año dulce y tranquilo. As I did at the evening service, I greet you again this morning with my wish for the new year: May this be a good year for all of us, a year of health and happiness, of spiritual and moral growth, a year of satisfaction, of fulfillment and peace […]
Shanah tovah – ¡Feliz Año Nuevo! Luego de un año muy difícil, es mi honor y privilegio una vez más estar frente a ustedes, miembros y amigos del Templo Beth Shalom de Puerto Rico, como lo he hecho durante los últimos ocho años, y saludarlos al comenzar nuestro nuevo año judío 5779. Vivimos en una […]
I OFFERED THIS PRELUDE IN SPANISH BEFORE I BEGAN THE FORMAL SERMON ITSELF IN ENGLISH (the full text will be available in Spanish translation on the TBS website): My friends, we have come through a hard year, a year of physical destrction by Hurricane Maria, a year of trauma and disappointment for this beloved island. […]
Due to the damage caused by hurricane Maria, our telephone line is still not in service. You may contact us via email, but please understand that we have gotten so many messages of support in the last few months (thank you!) that it has been difficult to catch up, and it may take some time to […]
By Rabbi Norman Patz This essay, excerpted from the 2010 monograph by Naomi Patz called “We Adopt as Our Own the Destroyed Jewish Community of Jihlava,” will appear in a forthcoming issue of the online newsletter of the Memorial Scrolls Trust in London at their request. A copy of the full monograph is in […]
Rabbi Norman Patz Shabbat Toledot – November 13, 2015 Temple Sholom of West Essex NOTE: This sermon was delivered when we were first hearing the reports of the Islamist terrorist attacks in Paris. In editing my text for circulation, I have sharpened the description of the volatile domestic and international context in which anti-Semitism has […]