Our Congregation

Our Congregation Beth Ruach is built on the values of the Torah and the Talmud, and we are united in our faith in Judaism and our support of Israel.

We support our congregation through Torah learning, Shabbat dinners, Jewish holidays, celebrations, and life-long learning of our Jewish education for all ages.

Our congregation is made up primarily of interfaith families due to the rise in Jewish people marrying outside of their faith. As such, while grounded in Judaism, our congregation welcomes their spouses of all faiths and those with no faith to join us in creating a diverse, vibrant spiritual community of individuals and families.

Through our teachings, work, and embrace, we aspire to keep the Jewish faith and traditions alive within these interfaith unions and be cherished by their extended families so that it may remain vibrant and alive into future generations.

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TESTIMONIAL—

“I’ve known David practically my whole life, and he knew my mom and my family, so he was the obvious choice to provide the funeral service for my mother, Miriam Stein. He did a very, very nice job, was very personal, and made sure everyone was included—as I knew he would. Thank you, David.”

Helen B.

The Rabbi’s Weekly Torah Commentary-June 27, 2026

Animals-our true mystical friends

Greetings friends

We have the double holidays of freedom and independence this week, which remind us to stay free and relish that freedom

This week we read another double parsha.  We are near the end of the Book of Numbers, the real end of the Torah journey.  We are now camped on the banks of the River Jordan by the city of Jericho, where I spent some time over the years looking for evidence of the walls that came tumbling down

We don’t need to look externally. We all have walls within that need to come down, and I hope any walls you have built around your hearts come tumbling down now as you let love, not hate, joy, not anger, peace, not fear, be contained in who you are and who you want to be.

We see the changing of the guard unfold as we enter a time warp and come out 40 years later.  The people gather, and Miriam dies; Moses and Aaron do not follow instructions perfectly and are sentenced to exile and death. Aaron dies, and we see the institutionalization of his son into the position of power.  This is a stark reminder that all are holy, but some are holier than others.  Moses is told he cannot enter the promised land.  The leaders of the past are the past and cannot bridge the world between desire and fulfillment.

As we change ourselves, we change our conditions of life.  And we are constantly changing, refining; it is whether we understand or are understood that can obstruct.  We may think someone is cold, driven, controlling, but they may simply be overachievers compensating for an ancient emotional lack.  As we work to understand others, we broaden our own outlooks on life, and they heal, and we heal.

This week, we read about a true revelation of healing.  Balaam, a seer, is hired to put a curse on the encamped Israelites, but he blesses them instead, using the words of Abraham first heard in Genesis.  He reminds us of what we heard before and possibly never more poignantly than when Joseph told Pharaoh and us that he was just a mouthpiece – G0d is in charge. Well, Balaam can only say what G0d told him to, and he was told to bless.  Something we should all do.

This is the comic relief of the Bible. Humor is such an essential part of human life that the Bible would be strange and incomplete without it. It makes it real.  This week’s reading is true humor.  It is clever, witty, metaphoric, and acts as the one true comic genius piece that was so confusing it was decided the talking ass was pre-ordained.

There are only two talking animals in the Bible – the serpent of Adam and Eve and the ass of Balaam.  Both are viewed differently, and yet both simply told the truth.

We are suddenly near the end of the wilderness journey, sitting on the entry to the promised land, but so few of us have crossed that boundary, and this may very well be the end of what may been the original Torah and we read about the red heifer, Moses’ sin, the death of Aaron, and this amazing magical brass snake of Moses used to cure people afflicted.  And we are presented with the great piece of biblical humor, the only funny encounter in the Torah, which perplexed the great sages so much that they deemed it one of only 10 pre-ordained events determined at creation.  Please enjoy the story of Balaam and his talking donkey.  It, like all great fables and parables, has a powerful message about “seeing.”

So let us join together and embrace the freedom to be you. Give thanks and celebrate your freedom and joy; do not succumb to fear. And please feel free to share this audio and video with anyone you think might enjoy it, and of course, enjoy all of our past audio and video episodes available on our YouTube channel.   This episode will be posted on our channel. Click here to watch the Rabbi David Gellman Show in the 2026 cycle. If you are one of the people this was sent to by a friend and want to receive it yourself, let me know. I will add you to my mailing list.  Thank you all for allowing me into your homes, electronic devices, and into your hearts, as you are all with me in mine.

Be well, be happy, be healthy, be free, be kind, be forgiving, be compassionate, be independent of mind and deed, be mindful of your intentions, and be good to yourself.  Continue to celebrate freedom of choice in your life, and do not give in to the fear that is so prevalent, and enjoy the peace that comes from acceptance. As always, if you have any questions or suggestions or just want to say “hi,” please send me an email.  I love hearing from you.

Remember, anytime you do not want to receive these anymore, please send me an email so I can remove you.  And know that I truly appreciate you sharing your sacred time with me.  Enjoy and celebrate your life and the lives of others, and in doing so, be safe, my friends, be happy, and may you all sow the seeds of, and reap the rewards of peace, love, and miracles, and make sure you also celebrate your unique individuality and your incredible awesomeness.

Your world is what you make it, so think about what you want.  Just wish upon a star, and continue to be a miracle in someone’s life, and light the light of love.  May the year bring all your hopes, dreams, and wishes to fruition.

Blessings

RD

www.rabbidavidgellman.com
Respecting our past.  Putting faith in your future

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