Uncategorized – Reflections by Rabbi Kim

A year later

Busy bus fumes and factory plumes wilt golden orchards, as glass shards glint in the blinding sun, While ancient melodies hum stillness into the scorched hills of poppy, now carpeted in green. Can a weave of ruddy grit stitch new garments of living hope? We mend and darn and hem with tears and wonder. WindedContinue reading “A year later”

The art of strength

(Parashat Vayechi sermon at Temple Emanu-El 1/2/26) I finally caved and agreed it was time to install a TV in the living room. Now our family, or our pre-teens and their friends, can curl up on the couches and watch movies. My resistance was rooted in a sense of overwhelm with the variety of screensContinue reading “The art of strength”

Drafting pencil

I learned of the following poem from my mentor and colleague, Rabbi David Stern, and I am forever grateful for the gift of these words: Special Orders by Edward Hirsch Give me back my father walking the halls of Wertheimer Box and Paper Company with sawdust clinging to his shoes. Give me back his tapeContinue reading “Drafting pencil”

Weeping

The Place Where We Are Right, Yehuda Amichai From the place where we are right flowers will never grow in the spring. The place where we are right is hard and trampled like a yard. But doubts and loves dig up the world like a mole, a plow. And a whisper will be heard inContinue reading “Weeping”

Are you there, God? It’s me, Zelophehad’s daughter.

This upcoming Torah portion, Pinchas, beckons with hints and wisdom that stirs my heart. After their father dies, the daughters of Zelophechad were unable to inherit their father’s land because land could only be passed down to sons. Thankfully, after the daughters raised their objections to Moses, and Moses consulted with God, the law changed,Continue reading “Are you there, God? It’s me, Zelophehad’s daughter.”

Coming Home

We have almost arrived at Sinai as the counting continues (day 46). I climbed the mountain believed to be Sinai years ago and remember meeting quite a few characters along the way to a breathtaking summit—a desert expanse that stretched to eternity. As I reflect back, and prepare for our return home after this monthContinue reading “Coming Home”

Roots

“As I put roots into the ground, every step I take brings more roots up to accept and welcome me in—into my heritage and into the woman I am slowly becoming, even in this very moment. These roots are embedded in the soil of who God is and who God has always been…we feel theContinue reading “Roots”

Slowing down

Parisians pour through the subway and bustle about like New Yorkers, and we’ve spoken to more than a few who work several jobs to make ends meet. But even in this urban drumbeat, there’s a general ethos of “savoring”—stopping in a nearby park on a warm afternoon, letting your feet dangle over the Seine, pursuingContinue reading “Slowing down”

We sing

A favorite passage I came across recently: We sing because we must. We sing because it fills our lungs with nourishing air, and lets out hearts soar with the notes we let out. We sing because it allows us to speak of love and loss, delight and desire, all encoded in lyrics that let usContinue reading “We sing”

In the Garden

For now the winter is past, the rains are over and gone (Song of Songs 2:11). We took the train toward Rouen, along with a steady flow of other Monet enthusiasts, and spilled out into the center of Vernon, an adjacent town. We hopped on a local bus that wound its way along the countryContinue reading “In the Garden”