Rabbi's Blog

Dear Haverim,

The Hungarian Jewish poet Hannah Senesh wrote:

“I pray that these things never end:

the sand and the sea,

the rush of the water,

the crash of the heavens,

the prayer of the heart.”

Whenever we join for Beach Services, we feel these words come alive!  That’s why, in part, so many of us moved here and why so many, who grew up here, have stayed.  It’s a beautiful place to live, especially for those of us who love the “great outdoors” and want to savor it with all of our senses year-round.

That’s why we love the experience of University Synagogue’s Beach Services during the summer.  Through song, prayer, poetry, fellowship, meditation, and playfulness, we deepen our senses of sight, sound, taste, smell, and touch, connecting the spirituality of the natural world with the spirituality within ourselves.

So many of us find our most profound selves in nature, a place for us to experience joy and exaltation as well as humility, when we realize that all of us are part of something much greater and more eternal.

So, please be with us for our “Shabbat Beach Service” this Friday evening.  At 6:15 p.m., please bring your own dairy dinner and a blanket or beach chair, and at 7:00 p.m., share our joyful, aesthetic and fun Shabbat service on a cliff overlooking the ocean at Crescent Bay Point Park in Laguna Beach.  (Click here to RSVP; since this service will be outside, Livestream will not be available.)  You can come for dinner or services or hopefully both.

There’s an amphitheater for the service, but we sometimes run out of space, so you may want to bring beach chairs. (Directions: From Irvine/Newport Beach, drive south on PCH to North Laguna Beach; pass Emerald Bay to Crescent Bay Drive.  Make a right and go to the end of the street to Crescent Bay Point Park.  You can park on Crescent or PCH or one block north on McKnight.) 

Also, please bring friends, dogs and wandering Jews and non-Jews, and celebrate nature and Shabbat by the ocean.  It’ll be an opportunity not only to recall memories, but to create some new ones, as well.  We’ll also celebrate July birthdays and anniversaries and we’ll have fun opportunities for children. (RSVP Now)

Please also save Friday, July 19, for “Harmonia Shabbat” at 7:00 p.m., Cantor Ruti Braier’s newest musical service that will feature beautiful harmonies sung by her and University Synagogue members Amy Ganser, Steven Hirsch and Zach Nelson.  The Cantor’s intention is to create, from time to time, an exciting, spiritually moving service that will focus on special melodies and that will include various members and other singers. 

In addition, singer/songwriter Daniel Nahmod, a University Synagogue favorite, will offer “A Shabbat of Contemporary Music” in this service.  He wanted to be with us before I become Rabbi Emeritus. (RSVP Now)

So, let’s celebrate our love of nature and Judaism together for our “Shabbat Beach Service” this Friday evening and wonderful harmonious music on July 19.

Shavua Tov/See You At The Beach,

Rabbi Arnie Rachlis