My recent posts…

Talmud of America

My recent posts..."Talmud of America" Pardes Institute, a non-denominational study center based in Jerusalem, offers immersive Jewish learning around the world. One project is “Talmud of America,” which aims to illuminate and interpret, through Jewish eyes, some...

Twilight Zone

My recent posts...Twilight Zone בֵּין הַשְׁמָשׁוֹת Bein hashemashot, literally, between the suns. בֵּין הַשְׁמָשׁוֹת A twilight zone of time, or rather, out of time, between one day and the next. Our sages of old used this concept to explain certain miraculous...

When to Pray Yizkor

My recent posts...My edited comments from this past final day of Pesach. Ellie’s mom, Julia Helfman, died on her 95th birthday, December 24, 2025. This was the first Yizkor service Ellie feels obligated to attend. She said, “I’m now a member of a club I was not eager...

Timing

It had become a Kremer household Pesach tradition, or rather, a pre-Pesach tradition. Somewhere within a couple of days prior the first seder and noon on erev Pesach, something would go awry in the kitchen.

Thank you for listening

Jul 21, 2017

Maybe it’s the radio, maybe the reception in our bedroom; we can get only pop stations on the bedside radio/alarm. Over time, we’ve gone through the top-40 choices we could get, moving up the patter/banter/humor levels from middle school to high school to working world. On our current default wake-up morning show, there is a fair amount of brief call-in comments or conversations on the air. To me, the most notable thing about those calls (other than the respect shown to every caller) is that, without fail, the host thanks each caller for listening to his program. It struck me this morning that, despite the relative bathroom humor and celebrity-centered talk, this was something worth emulating. We generally remember to thank those who do things: kitchen or office volunteers; event or committee chairs; regular service attendees; lay leadership. I feel that I do not offer enough personal thanks to them and to the people who are, in effect, our listeners: you who read this blog; you who occasionally attend a service or participate in an event, class or program; you who keep Shirat Hayam in mind when marking occasions with donations; you who entrust your children to our teachers and caregivers; you who call the office to check on the time for a service or for Shabbat candle-lighting; you who make calls through the Caring Network; you who make the effort to patronize our gift shop; you who enable a loved one to be active at Shirat Hayam. It takes a lot of people to keep Shirat Hayam vibrant, and, of course, more ideas and more hands and hearts are always welcome. Thank you!