Uncategorized – Reflections by Rabbi Kim

Memories live in the details.

I could tell you about the seasonal vacations of my childhood driving from Los Angeles to the Sierra Nevada mountains and one version sounds like a travel itinerary. Palmdale to Lone Pine to Mammoth Lakes. Flashes of images are evoked with those names, and when I really pause to collect the details, the memories becomeContinue reading “Memories live in the details.”

The way

Interpretive translation of Psalm 1, dedicated to Eric L.Herzog (composed on Hevraya winter retreat 2026) Soul rooted are those who have not become like stones in the field, Nor stood fixed on a mound of earth, Nor sit star-spangled and tangled in magical ropes. Curious ones listen and know there are lands unseen, there isContinue reading “The way”

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”