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A Message from Marc

Marc's Message

Marc Baker headshot
CJP's President and CEO, Rabbi Marc Baker, writes and teaches about leadership, community, and civic life, bringing the voice of Jewish tradition to contemporary issues.

 

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Breaking Open

Shalom Chaverim,
 
Yesterday was the 17th of the Jewish month of Tammuz, a minor fast day on the Jewish calendar that marks the beginning of a three-week period leading up to Tisha B’Av, the saddest day on the Jewish calendar.
 
The 17th of Tammuz commemorates the breaching of the wa…

Aloh Naaleh – We Can Go Up

Shalom Chaverim, 

Over the past few months, and specifically these past few weeks, I’ve been thinking a lot about the brokenness of our world, and about what it means for leadership and the character of our community. 

When times are good it can be easy to coast along, to succumb to th…

Our World is on Fire

Shalom Chaverim (Dear Friends),

This week, our world, our country, our communities, and the streets of our city have been both literally and metaphorically on fire. Like so many of you, I feel a combination of outrage and pain at the killing of George Floyd and at the racial injustice that …

Together in Song

Shalom Chaverim (Dear Friends),

We are coming to the end of Mental Health Awareness Month, which has taken on new meaning this year. In addition to the other tragic dimensions of this pandemic, social distancing, isolation, loss, stress, and anxiety are exacerbating mental health challenges…

Roots and Wings

Shalom Chaverim (Dear Friends),

A couple of weeks ago, on Yom HaZikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day, my youngest daughter quietly interrupted my first Zoom meeting of the day to put a sticky note on my desk.

“Will you be free in 15 minutes?” the note asked. She was reminding me that she w…