The Latest from BZBI
Mazel Tov Ben & Livia!
Livia and Ben Smollen are eighth graders at Friends Select School and Aim Academy, respectively. They are excited to welcome and celebrate with friends and family traveling from Boston, California, Chicago, Minneapolis and Texas — but most especially their grandparents Mindy and Len Smollen, and Harvey and Marge Kaplan. When not preparing for their Bnai… Read More
Mazel Tov Simone!
Simone Raquel Levy lives in Rittenhouse Square and attends AIM Academy in Conshohocken, where she is an honor roll student. She has just begun 8th grade. Simone loves figure skating and is a member of the Philadelphia Skating Club and Humane Society in Ardmore, Pennsylvania. She has been a competitive figure skater since age 4…. Read More
From Lament to Action
A Closing Prayer for a Tisha B'Av Vigil for Refugees, Immigrants and Asylum Seekers
Rabbi Annie Lewis recited this prayer at Independence Mall during a Vigil for Refugees on the 9th of Av, 5779. To the refugees who have been turned away from this country, To all who have been separated from their families and detained, To all who have been raided, deported, massacred, To all who seek sanctuary,… Read More
“Night Vision”: The Grief and Hope of Tisha B’Av
Shabbat Chazon 5779 / 10 August 2019
Shabbat Shalom. I am grateful to be back on the bimah at BZBI this shabbat, this time as a member of the clergy team of this beloved community that has meant so much to our family the past five years. This past July, Yosef, Zohar, Shir and I had the blessing of spending three weeks… Read More
Towards an Honest Egalitarianism
Mattot-Mas'ei 5779 / 3 August 2019
When Marc and I were planning our wedding and selecting the wording for our ketubah, we chose two very different texts to exist side by side on the same document. One, the traditional text in Aramaic, lays out the financial aspects of a marriage and the groom’s obligations to his wife, and two, an English… Read More
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