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Let Us Turn Our Thoughts to Martin Luther King

Posted by Rabbi Ron Symons on January 13, 2017

As our country celebrates the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., I hope that you see it as a call to action based on long-standing Jewish values. Join me for a brief video-blog with music, quotes and intention.

Celebrate the Slow Cooker

Posted by Rabbi Ron Symons on January 12, 2017

Among the many important events in the new year, January is National Slow Cooking Month. The ubiquitous slow cooker - the small appliance that makes it all happen - should not be taken for granted. How wonderful is it to be able to throw a bunch of ingredients into a Crock Pot just before leaving for work in the morning, set it on low, and then come …

Mentoring Happens Every Day at the JCC

Posted by JCC Pittsburgh on January 4, 2017

January is National Mentoring Month, which focuses on how mentors help ensure positive outcomes for our young people. The JCC – a diverse, dynamic community providing services for individuals of all ages—is a place where meaningful mentorship is encouraged and supported, every day. Effective mentorship is based on relationships of trust and the modeling of positive behaviors. Over the past few years, the JCC, recognizing the many …

The Maccabee Way of Thinking

Posted by Rabbi Ron Symons on December 21, 2016

Each year, as I re-encounter the story of Chanukah, I am inspired by the persistence of a small group of Maccabees who fought for their core values in the face of seemingly incredible odds. When confronted with oppression and limitations, they thought broader and wider than any narrow definitions that others might have used to define them. No matter the historical circumstances, that 'Maccabee way of thinking' is …

Personal Trainer Embodies Jewish Values

Posted by Frieda Lalli on December 14, 2016

As the Membership Director at the South Hills JCC, I often hear comments from our members about the facility, the equipment, the classes, the water temperature in the pool and the instructors. I recently received a compliment about one of our newer personal trainers. Mallery Fascetti has been a personal trainer at the JCC for less than 6 months. In that brief time, she has built …

Bring on The Light – Chanukah!

Posted by Rabbi Ron Symons on December 5, 2016

As the days get shorter during the end of 2016, Chanukah could not come any sooner. As I prepare for the Festival of Lights this year, I am particularly aware of the eternally contemporary message of the Macabees. Way back when, around 2100 years ago, when the Assyrian Greeks radically changed the structure of society by not allowing our ancestors to celebrate Shabbat, study Torah nor perform …

The Morning After: Be A Role Model

Posted by Rabbi Ron Symons on November 9, 2016

On Sunday, I blogged how I voted. This morning, as we wake up to a peaceful transfer of power and a celebration of our democracy, I want to share my hope. Every single one of us has to be a role model for the other. I am still committed to the confluence of Jewish and American values I wrote about on Sunday: We are commanded to strive to …

I voted as a proud American Jewish citizen. Will you?

Posted by Rabbi Ron Symons on November 6, 2016

I live in Pennsylvania, where things matter this year in presidential politics, and I already voted through absentee ballot because my schedule won’t allow me to vote in person. Sitting on my family room couch as I looked at the ballot, I took into consideration my shared identity as an equally proud American and Jew, as I cast my vote. I want to share with you ‘how’ …

Aging Mastery Program – The Jewish Way!

Posted by Rabbi Ron Symons on October 19, 2016

I am writing to you with wishes that you live until age 120! Pupu…. Many of us know that Jewish wisdom teaches us that Moses lived until he was 120 years old. Oy! Could you imagine? But the thing is, that we often forget the description of Moses at age 120. “ Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, his eyes were undimmed and …

OY!!??!! What is going on in Politics? A Yom Kippur Exploration

Posted by Rabbi Ron Symons on October 10, 2016

My concern about the US political discourse has been simmering for months. It all came to a boil this weekend with videos and commentary and photo opportunities and debate and more commentary.... I am simply embarrassed about the level of discourse and wish it would change. Do you? Without getting political, I did a little soul searching in the the great Jewish wisdom tradition of Mussar, values …

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