Congregation Shaarei Kodesh exists to ignite (להדלק – lihadlik) the Jewish spark within each individual, journeying together as a holy, Jewish community (קהילה יהודית קדושה – kehillah yehudit kedosha).

Week of May 4, 2026

17 Iyar 5786

Shabbat Behar-Bechukotai

22 Iyar 5786

The Kodesh Konnection and The Shabbat Shalom will be combined each week through the summer and will be sent each Tuesday.


The administration office will be closed

on Fridays until further notice.

Lag BaOmer: A Minor Holiday with Major Meaning for Today

 

The Jewish people celebrate a mini-holiday called Lag BaOmer, which has taken on a life of its own in recent years. It’s celebrated with bonfires and singing of Jewish songs, and in Israel with a pilgrimage to the grave of Shimon Bar Yochai in Meron (Israel), a well-known Talmudic rabbi who many believe wrote the Zohar, the foundational text of Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism. The bonfires are a symbol of the light of the Torah and mystical knowledge that Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai brought into the world.

 

Shimon Bar Yochai was a great rabbi, but he became infamous for one not-so-flattering story found in the Talmud. One day, Rabbi Shimon and his son were exiled to a cave for decades because of a Roman decree against them. A miracle occurred in the cave in the form of a spring that burst out of the ground, and a carob tree grew in their midst. They had food, water, and Torah, which they thought were all they needed. They lived in this cave for twelve years and emerged to see men plowing and sowing their fields all day. Rabbi Shimon could not believe what he saw: Jews working in the real world, and forsaking Torah study! He screams, "They forsake eternal life and busy themselves with temporal life?!”


CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING...


Click Here to enjoy Rabbi Baum's latest article about Lag BaOmer, "A Minor Holiday with Major Meaning Today" in this week's Our Jew News (OJN)

Upcoming Events...

JOIN OUR NEW L'CHAIM KIDDUSH CLUB!

Purchase your own CSK Logo Shirt

Budget Meeting Workshop: Tuesday, May 12, 7:00 PM on Zoom

Annual Budget Meeting: Wednesday, May 20, 7:00 PM on Zoom

Shavuot: Thursday, May 21-Saturday, May 23

Throughout our year-long Spicy Torah program, one of the crowd favorites has been The Hot Ones segment, where Rabbi Baum put our speakers in the hot seat with questions that escalated from mild to ghost pepper.

Well, the tables are turning.

This Shavuot, Rabbi Baum faces the fire,

and we need YOUR help loading the questions.

We are looking for your most provocative, honest, and genuinely spicy questions. Think less, "How many times is Samuel mentioned in the Book of Samuel" and more the questions you've always wanted to ask your rabbi but weren't sure you could.

A few examples to get you thinking:

- What's your stance on intermarriage?

- Would you eat pork grown in a lab from cells?

- How do you really feel about what's going on in Israel?

Theological, personal, controversial, philosophical — almost nothing is off the table (no questions about specific people or political parties). The spicier, the better.

Please fill out the survey below by May 18. We will curate and sequence the questions for the evening, so your question may appear,

but we won't tell you which ones made the cut until the night itself.

Friday, May 8, 6:15 PM

Musical Shabbat led by

Rabbi Marci Bloch &

Cantorial Soloist Robin Koota

Jewry Duty: Sal-Spi


Saturday, May 9, 9:30 AM

D'var Torah: Nan Berkowitz

Lunch & Learn led by Ron Brandt “How Flexible is Halachah In Meeting The Challenges of Modern Medicine? The Jewish Take on Organ Donation." Kiddush sponsor: Ron & Lillie Brandt

UPCOMING

SHABBAT/HOLIDAY SERVICES


Friday, May 15: Final Friday Night Service for the summer!

Jewry Duty: Ste-Yes


Saturday, May 16:

Kiddush Sponsor: Allan Weitzman in honor of reading his Bar Mitzvah Haftarah Portion


CLICK HERE FOR FULL SHAVUOT SCHEDULE!


Friday, May 22: Shavuot Day 1, 9:30 AM


Saturday, May 23: Shabbat, Shavuot Day 2, Yizkor, 9:30 AM

LIFE CYCLE EVENTS


If you would like to be mentioned here, email office@shaareikodesh.org by Thursday so that we can include it in the following Tuesday's weekly email.

 

CELEBRATING A BIRTHDAY, ANNIVERSARY, BABY NAMING, GRADUATION?

MARK THE OCCASION WITH A CSK TRIBUTE CARD OR DONATION!

 

If you need assistance from our Sunshine Committee, please call the office. 

WE GRACIOUSLY THANK OUR SUPPORTERS

Do you work for an organization that offers matching funds to non-profits?

If so, consider naming CSK to match your donations! 



Leave your legacy

to CSK!

Make a difference

for our future!

Ruth & Lewis Davis

Religious School,

Teen Ed and

Youth Group Registration

WHAT'S HAPPENING IN OUR JEWISH COMMUNITY?


Included: Information from Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County, Ruth & Norman Rales Jewish Family Services, PJ Library, JScreen Genetic Testing & more...

ADVERTISE YOUR BUSINESS HERE

CSK Email Addresses:

RabbiBaum@shaareikodesh.org

President@shaareikodesh.org, Gloria Morenstein

Kim@shaareikodesh.org, Executive Director

Office@shaareikodesh.org

Programming@shaareikodesh.org, Jessica Friedman

Membership@shaareikodesh.org, Nan Berkowitz

If you encounter an antisemitic incident:

Emergency: Call 911

Free Legal Hotline for Universities:  CALL help to 51555

Hillel Toolkit for Students: https://www.hillel.org/student-resources/?af=&gs=

Report an Incident to the ADL: https://www.adl.org/report-incident

Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County:

https://jewishboca.org/security/

Zioness Facebook Site: https://www.facebook.com/zionessmovement/