Havdalah as a Light to the Community

As beautiful a study as I’ve ever seen of Havdalah! I am reposting it on Coffee Shop Rabbi as a vision of what’s possible.

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rabbiadar

Rabbi Ruth Adar is a teaching rabbi in San Leandro, CA. She has many hats: rabbi, granny, and ham radio operator K6RAV. She blogs at http://coffeeshoprabbi.com/ and teaches at Jewish Gateways in Albany, CA.

4 thoughts on “Havdalah as a Light to the Community”

  1. Thank you Rabbi, I’m touched to know this message resonates with others! When I write pieces like this sometimes I worry that I’ve waxed too hometown boyish and nostalgic. That I’m focusing to much on my the micro-community of my obscure hometown. I’m glad the message is something others can also take home with them too. 🙂

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    1. I write primarily for beginners in the community, and it’s good for them to see that there are lots of ways to be an observant Jew. I love this particular piece because it’s so clear that you love your hometown and your practice is rooted in your place and your web of friends, in your real life.

      It’s easy to teach people how to do things the way I do them, but I love letting them see that no one teacher’s way is the only or even the best way. Judaism spans millennia and the entire earth: ideally they will each find their community, their town, their ways of being observant.

      Also you are a darn fine writer, and it is a pleasure to share your work with my audience! I hope some of them will become regular readers of your blog.

      Reply

  2. so very interesting, opens up a whole new chapter of Jewish History in USA to me, thank you for sharing.

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