Bylined opinion and news columns published by United Hebrew Congregation Terre Haute.
Temple Sisterhood is back meeting the second Tuesday of the month to socialize and plan projects in support of our congregation and community.
Most recently, we dined at the new Lucia’s Taqueria at Brown and Wabash avenues and Grand Traverse Pie Company, just south of the ISU campus.
The first community project we’re working on for 2023 is to provide support for newborns at Union Hospital. We welcome your donations!
If there is something greater than ourselves, what is it? How do we fit into the ever-changing world that surrounds us?
How can an individual find peace of mind, a center, a foundation from which to build and grow when they have no established place?
These questions went through my mind as I sought the answers over my life’s course. This is a journey that encompasses personal beliefs, as well as causes one to question what they feel they already know.
It is a search that led me to a place of comfort and peace within the synagogue, a place of learning, of prayer and of community.
While I considered this essay, my mind kept going in different directions.
I wanted to be heartfelt without sounding cliche. After typing, erasing, re-typing and re-erasing, it hit me: I’ve already written my essay.
I opened my journal and read through entries made over the past three years. While reading, I went from laughing hysterically to bewilderment.
I had forgotten how little I knew about Judaism or how ignorant I was to antisemitic conceptions and remarks. I also noticed trauma responses left by religious organizations present themselves as ignorance, obscenities and absolutes.
Preparing for the secular New Year is wildly different than preparing for the Jewish New Year — even down to the time of year!
Rosh Hashanah occurs when the summer months wane and give way to the crispness of autumn. We find some relief from the heat, and head into the new season with our souls renewed.
Secular New Year, on the other hand, comes at the darkest point of the year. The days get shorter and the nights grow darker, and it seems the slog of winter will never end.