On Saturday night, Nadya and I and several Temple Sinai members attended a tribute concert to Leonard Cohen performed by his long-time back-up singer, Perla Battala, organized by Art Town, and hosted by the First United Methodist Church in downtown Reno. One of the pieces that moved me most that night was Battala’s performance of […]
About Rabbi Ethan Bair
Posts by Rabbi Ethan Bair:
Partnering with God
This week we completed a three-session, 30-people class called A Taste of Judaism TM, for which Temple Sinai received an advertising grant through the Union for Reform Judaism. It was a wonderful and diverse group of interfaith couples, Jews from birth who were raised with little or no Jewish education, and non-Jewish spiritual seekers curious […]
Meaning of Avinu Malkeinu
Yom Kippur Day 5777 Temple Sinai, Reno, Nevada Shana tov and welcome once again to Temple Sinai. The High Holy Days are filled with some of the most poignant and powerful prayers in Jewish liturgy but too often, we come to services and feel that we’re just thrown right in. Some of these High Holy […]
Helping Refugees
Kol Nidrei (Erev Yom Kippur) 5777 Temple Sinai, Reno, Nevada Shana tova, and welcome once again to Temple Sinai – it’s wonderful to see all of you here for Kol Nidre this evening. Many of you know our active and beloved Temple member Judy Schumer. You may have also heard the story of how Judy […]
Preparing for Yom Kippur
It was wonderful to pray with everyone who joined us for Rosh HaShanah services this year. Below is the excerpt that Dr. Gary Pomeranz shared before expertly sounding the shofar. Please take a moment to read it in case you missed it. You can also read both Rosh HaShanah sermons I delivered this year here. […]
Be Countercultural
Rosh HaShanah Day 5777 Temple Sinai, Reno, Nevada Good morning and welcome once again to Temple Sinai. I’m really glad to see each of you here on this first day of Rosh Hashanah. It’s a bit of a paradox, isn’t it? In here, it’s Rosh Hashanah: The New Year, the Day of Remembrance, and the […]
The Message of Unetaneh Tokef
Erev Rosh HaShanah 5777 Temple Sinai, Reno, Nevada Good evening and Shana Tova, and welcome once again to the first service of the high holiday season. I’m Rabbi Bair and I’m thrilled to see so many of you here this evening. No matter when the holidays are in the calendar, early or late, they always […]
Our Task in Elul
A good Chodesh Elul, everyone! The month of Elul in Aramaic means “to search” as the spiritual project of this month is “searching our souls” and beginning the process of repentance and forgiveness that culminates with Yom Kippur on the 10th of Tishrei. “Elul” is also said to be an acronym for “Ani l’dodi v’dodi […]
Parashat Eikev 8/26/2016
Can you remember a time you really enjoyed reading a good book? Perhaps the story engrossed you, or the style of writing intrigued you? Or perhaps the book opened you up to a time period or place you knew little about beforehand? Good books, in my experience, reveal a truth about the world or society […]
Entering the Month of Av
Like most summers, I have officiated at a requisite handful of weddings this summer. And I am sure many of you whose weddings happened in the summer, are celebrating joyous anniversaries. Mazel tov! With the warm weather and with children on different schedules, summer is a time of joy, of adventure and celebration. At the […]