North Country Reform Temple

04/16/2025

Did you know that we have one of the most lovely and reasonably priced event spaces in Nassau County?
Do you have a special event coming up?
Check it out !

Rent Our Space! Host parties, meetings, lectures and concerts. Full commercial kitchen is recently updated with the newest safety features.

02/20/2025

Today, the bodies of Shiri Bibas, 34, her little children Ariel and Kfir, and Oded Lifsh*tz, age 83—all Israeli citizens kidnapped from their homes and brutally murdered by Hamas—were returned to Israel.

The horrifying image of Shiri shielding her innocent children on October 7, 2023, is ingrained into so many of us, as for 500 days Israelis, Jews, and allies stood at the intersection of hope and horror, praying through pain for their safe return home.

We send comfort to Yarden Bibas and to all those who mourn, and we pray for the swift, safe release of all hostages who remain in captivity in Gaza.

זכרונם לברכה.

May their memories forever be a blessing.

10/07/2024

A Prayer for those who died a year ago, and those who died in the violence that has continued since then.

10/07/2024

🕯️ 💔☮️✡️💟

10/01/2024

Use this to write to your college or university prez

As the October 7th anniversary approaches, groups like Students for Justice in Palestine are planning disruptive protests, targeting memorial events. Even more alarming, reports suggest students may attempt to rebuild encampments and set up checkpoints, causing campus chaos.

09/28/2024

Free Covid tests available from the government:

COVID-19 testing can help you know if you have COVID-19 so you can decide what to do next, like getting treatment to reduce your risk of severe illness and taking steps to lower your chances of spreading the virus to others.

09/10/2024

Before clocks were invented, rabbis had to decide when “daytime” begins and “nighttime” ends. Some said it’s when you can see the difference between a green thread and a blue one. But my favorite answer is this, from an anonymous rabbi: “It is daylight when you can look into the face of another human being and recognize that he or she is your brother or sister. Until then,” he said, “it is night.”

At a time when darkness is sweeping over the land, I find this story powerful. While the traditional definition of “daylight” relies simply on the movement of the sun, this rabbi’s requires us to act: only when we look into the face of another can we determine whether it is light or dark.

Today our political conversations are caricatures, portraying those we disagree with as enemies: fascists, communists, capitalists, socialists. The longer we respond to these over-broad generalizations, the farther apart we are from looking into each other’s face and seeing light.

True, some people do not want to talk with us; they do not want to see or acknowledge our humanity. Judaism demands that we defend ourselves against those who want us gone, or dead. But now, as we prepare our souls for the start of a New Year, let us commit ourselves to looking into others’ faces, especially into the faces of those we consider “other.” There may we discover the light with which God created us, and them, and everything.
-September 10, 2024/7 Elul 5784
Rabbi Don Weber

08/03/2024

A beautiful SHABBAT AT THE BEACH with pizza prayer and delicious homemade desserts. A soulful evening. 💟✡️

07/08/2024

The High Holidays are approaching. Join us as we take a deep-ish dive into self examination in preparation. Open to all. 💟✡️

06/29/2024

A special service last night as we welcome Cantor Amelia Fox and celebrate Jason Churgel’s Bar Mitzvah
💟✡️💟✡️

06/24/2024

04/19/2024

Passover Greetings from
Rabbi Michael Churgel

As we prepare to begin Shabbat HaGadol, the sabbath preceeding the Festival holiday of Passover, and early next week, our celebration of Passover, it is impossible to ignore the ongoing hostage crisis and war with Hamas in Gaza, as well as the ongoing clashes with Iran. One of our greetings during this Festival is "Mo'adim l'simchah," which means "this is the season of our rejoicing." It's difficult to rejoice in the midst of so much violence, pain, and suffering.

In several days we will join together with family and friends at seder to celebrate our redemption from slavery, and we will sing "Dayeinu" where we thank God for all the miracles and gifts, saying that each one would have been enough for us. In light of current events and the state of the world, we might argue that it is not enough. As President Herzog suggests in his Passover message this year, our empty chair at the seder this year is for the hostages that remain captive in Gaza. I have included a link below so that you might read and watch his message.

There is crucial work to be done, and we must continue our role as God's partners and work together with all of humanity to usher in that redemptive era, symbolized this season by Elijah the Prophet, who we invite with an open door, as we should all of our neighbors.

May this Passover provide more reasons for us to rejoice with one another as we continue to pray for the safe return of our captive Israeli family in Gaza, the general health and well-being of all those around the world who are suffering, and above all, SHALOM, peace between all people and nations. Only then will we be able to say Dayeinu and truly celebrate a Mo'adim l'simcha.

With blessings for shalom and simcha - peace, wholeness, and joy,

Rabbi Michael S. Churgel, RJE