Shalom & Welcome to
Rabbi Dina-Hasida Mercy's Website!
Where Judaism is relevant, meaningful and joyful.
My Philosophy – “You don’t have to complete the task, but neither are you excused from undertaking it.”
My Philosophy – “I think Jewish education should be fun. I love Hebrew and continue to find it fascinating. I encourage my students to think critically; they don’t have to agree with everything, but at least have an understanding of various viewpoints.”
My Philosophy – “I want to help Jews and non-Jews celebrate their loving unions. Our world and our people are so wounded. There are many hurts inflicted out of this woundedness. If we want to stop the cycle, at some point, I believe we have to make an active choice to do no more harm”.
My Philosophy – “I would like to see a kinder approach. Judaism is not a missionary religion, but we can listen sympathetically to the ones who knock on the door.”
This is my interpretation of this very important part of our Liturgy. It can be seen as a reminder to us all that we bear ultimate responsibility for our world and its environment. If we do not act appropriately, we can have an impact on the earth.
My Philosophy – “The Jewish Chaplaincy Society believes in supporting the many Jews and their families who may wish to express their Jewishness in a non-synagogue setting.”
My Philosophy – “The Jewish tradition is that a rabbi is not paid for providing spiritual service, rather the rabbi is compensated for the time taken away from earning a living.”
Welcoming the Shabbat
You may ask why the first mitzvah of Shabbat is the kindling of lights. That is because Shabbat is actually a celebration of the Creator and His Creation. G‑d’s creation of the world follows a seven-day cycle, which peaks each Shabbat and begins anew. At Creation, the first thing that was brought into being was light. Therefore, it is appropriate to kindle lights at the start of Shabbat in commemoration of the first light that was created.
Blogs, Information, News, History, Community & More...
Our Most Recent Blogs
Felonious is looking forward to making new friends, but he is worried that he will be shunned when people find out that he was in prison. If people could only get to know him before making up their minds! They would see that he is truly sorry for his crime. He is not that guy anymore! Overcoming his fears of…
This is the first of many of Felonious Monk’s adventures #1 Prison inmates are very grateful to the volunteers who come to visit them. Every Institution has a volunteer appreciation event annually. One lovely feature of this event is an opportunity for each guest to pick a gift from tables of crafts and artwork that have been made by the…
The Magen David is a widely recognized symbol of Judaism. The literal translation is ‘shield of David,’ referring to King David of the Bible. This Magen David is ‘inter-species art.’ My first lovebird was a female with a strong nesting drive. No paper could be safely left in her presence because she shredded everything that she could get her beak…
Every 14th day of Adar on the Hebrew calendar Jewish people celebrate Purim. It’s a joyous holiday that marks the time the Persian Jewish population was saved from genocide. Okay, while Purim does have rather dark underpinnings, it really is supposed to be a fun celebration of survival full of wine, noisemakers and hamantaschen – the triangle cookie-like pastry with…
Important Upcoming Dates
Our Next Jewish Festival/Holiday
Passover
Passover
Begins sunset of Saturday, March 27, 2021
Ends nightfall of Sunday, April 4, 2021.
Passover (Pesach) celebrates the deliverance of the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt.
The first Seder will be on March 27 after nightfall, and the second Seder will be on March 28 after nightfall.