09/04/2026
📖 From the Desk of Rabbi Brodkin
This past week was back-to-school week for many families. How was it for yours?
In our family, we made sure to get out to the shore one last time before summer slipped away. As we did, I found myself thinking about how precious these family moments are.
The High Holidays give us another kind of precious time — an opportunity to reconnect not only with our own families, but with the larger family of the Jewish people.
In this week’s parsha, the Torah exhorts us to “Choose life.” Sometimes, choosing life means doing something very concrete for someone else.
A local community member recently shared with me that his wife, Suzanne, has been on dialysis for almost a year and is in need of a kidney transplant. A potential donor has been identified, but a kidney exchange could potentially help save two lives.
As we enter the New Year, I hope we can all find ways to look out for one another and make a difference in the lives of those around us.
This Sunday, September 6, we’ll also have a special opportunity to come together as a community as we bring Selichos back to B’nai Israel for the first time in a number of years. Selichos begins at 8:00 am, followed by Shacharis and a fresh bagel & lox breakfast. Rabbi Andrew Schultz and members of Freehold Jewish Center will be joining us as well.
I look forward to seeing many of you as we prepare together for Rosh Hashana. Wishing everyone a wonderful Shabbos.
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