10@9 My Faith Is Beth Israel's Faith - January 12, 2026

This morning we express our sadness and outrage at the arsonist attack this past Shabbat at Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson, Mississippi. We tell the history of this active synagogue, and we cry for the pain inflicted on our brothers and sisters there. I share a Dvar Torah on last week's Parsha that is on the Beth Israel website. I assume it is written by Rabbi Benjamin Russell, Beth Israel's rabbi, but if I am incorrect, I hope someone will correct me. Of course there are major differences in belief and practice between us, just as there are differences of belief and practice within my own family, and yours. But we are family - their blood is our blood, and their pain is our pain. The Dvar Torah I share, despite any differences between is, follows the same ideas I have expressed many times. In this case, my faith is Beth Israel's faith.