Kol Nidre 2009 - 5770
Rabbi Marvin Schwab
Temple Beth Shalom

Kol Nidre. In conversation, the words seem to demand the kind of awe that requires one to whisper. Kol Nidre. In the entirety of the Jewish Ritual Experience, there is no other night like this. For some of us, this is the holiest experience we can have in the Synagogue. Yom Kippur is so exalted that we even read the holiness codes from the Torah on this day: Kedoshim t’hiyu, key Kadosh Ani Adonai Eloheichem - You shall be holy for I, the Eternal your God, am Holy.

We have been getting a lot of requests for some of the speeches given during the High Holy Days this year. Below are Rick's and Ambrose's "Father/Son Personal Statements" from Yom Kippur afternoon. A lot of people have also asked for Ellen Z's Erev Rosh Hashanah speech, and that is also below. All are PDFs.

If you have any other talks or speeches from the High Holy Days (or any other time, really), please contact us and let us know!

Ellen Zieselman, Erev Rosh Hashanah
Rick Ferber, Yom Kippur
Ambrose Ferber, Yom Kippur

You may distribute or reproduce these for personal, non-commercial use with proper attribution.

Good evening and Gut Yuntuf.

On behalf of Foundation Board and its new Executive Director, Janet Schwab, I want to bring you up to date on the progress made by the Temple Foundation during the past year and ask you to pledge a contribution to the Foundation for the coming year or from your estate in the future.

First I must tell you, Iím standing here at the bema, looking at myself and quite frankly, laughing at the fact that it is me who is addressing our wonderful congregation of approximately 350 families.

Let me first suggest that you and I and all sitting here, and those who subscribe to the platforms of the Reform, Reconstructionist, Conservative, Renewal, Humanistic movements and of course all Jewish secularists are FREE JEWS ñ That is free from the dominion of Halachic religion, free from an exclusive religious interpretation of mitzvot, from a religious interpretation of Jewish celebration, traditions, and culture, Jews FREE of one inflexible view of the Bible and post-biblical literature.

The Julian Bond event was a huge success. Here is his speech, reprinted for your perusal.

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Equality New Mexico
April 14, 2007
Copyright 2007 by Julian Bond

This event is presented by Sante Fe's Human Rights Alliance with sponsorship by Temple Beth Shalom. Co-hosts include the local NAACP Branch, the New Mexico Holocaust and Intolerance Museum, and Equality New Mexico.

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I fell like I'm in the midst of the coalition of conscience!