Six Degrees of Connection

Most of us are familiar with the concept that there are at most six degrees of separation between ourselves and any other person on the planet. In other words, through “a friend of a friend of a friend,” only five relationships are needed to make a bridge between any two people.

A New Year’s Letter

This will be my last Oasis Songs before the New Year. The following several weeks, our holiday cycle also means that I’ll be communicating with you primarily in services, and will look forward to returning to our shared space here after Simchat Torah.

Ashes, Ashes, We All Fall Down

Oasis Songs: Musings from Rav D Tuesday, September 8, 2017 / 17 Elul 5777 As part of our ongoing commitment to being good neighbors, here is a link to the flyer about an interfaith potluck that Neveh Shalom is participating in this Sunday from 3-5. Our friends at the Bilal Mosque and the West Hills Unitarian Universalist Fellowship will be there. I unfortunately have another synagogue commitment. If you’d like to attend, please rsvp here. Summary: ... Read More

Some Say The World Will End By Fire

Over this past week, our eyes and hearts have been fixated on the continuing disaster that is Houston. The scale of this storm is the largest in our nation’s collective memory, and the financial burden to rebuild will be immense. While the death toll will undoubtedly increase as days go by, it seems that the one bright light in all of this is that Hurricane Harvey did not claim nearly the lives that were lost when Katrina ravaged.

To the Nth Degree

Two days ago, we welcomed in the holy month of Elul. Our daily minyan rejoiced in the songs of Hallel, and then we listened as the shofar was sounded for the first time, as it will be each morning leading up to the Days of Awe. Less noted, that day also corresponded with Rosh Hashanah Lama’asar Behemah, the New Year for Animal Tithes.