Rabbi's Blog Archive
12/25/2023 "Ringing In The New Year With Ask The Rabbi"- This Friday Evening, December 29, at 7:00 p.m.
12/18/2023 "Hanukkah Is Over, But Let's Continue To Increase Light In The World"-Join Us This Friday, December 22, at 7:00 p.m. for Shabbat Services With Guest Speaker, Dr. Miriam Piven Cotler.
12/04/2023 "Hanukkah: A Time For Gratitude, Hope and Generosity"
11/27/2023 "Seeing Light In The Darkness"- Pre-Hanukkah Shabbat Dinner, Festive Services, and Mini-Concert, This Friday Evening, at 5:00 p.m.
11/22/2023 A Message From Our Rabbi About The Hostages
11/20/2023 Join Us For "Thanksgiving Shabbat" Where The Readings Will Focus On Gratitude And The Topic Will Be: "A Guide For The Perplexed To The Middle East"-This Friday Evening, November 24 at 7:00 p.m.
11/13/2023 "Great Synagogues of the World", and "Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Judaism And Christianity, But Were Afraid To Ask".
11/06/2023 "Anti-Semitism On Our Campuses: What's Happening And What Can We Do About it?" With UC Berkely Law School Dean Erwin Chemerinsky, Friday, November 10, at 7:00 p.m.
10/30/2023 "Jewish Views Of War, Peace and Saving Hostages"- This Friday Evening and "Anti-Semitism On Our Campuses" with UC Berkely Law School Dean Erwin Chemerinsky on November 10.
10/23/2023 "The Incredible $1,000,000 And Growing Merage U.S. Israel Aid Fund To Support Israel, Our Shabbat Alive Free Klemzer Concert For Israel And Ukraine, And A Wine And Cheese Pre-Oneg For Our "40U" (Ages 40 And Under) Members. What A Week At Univer
10/16/2023 "Hamas' War And Israel's Self Defense: Why Did It Happen, What Can We Do, And What Comes Next?" This Friday Evening, October 20, 7:00 p.m.
10/09/2023 "Supporting Israel In It's Time of Need!"
9/27/2023 "Keep On Rejoicing"- Join Us This Friday Evening For Sukkot- 5:00 p.m. Dinner And 5:30 p.m. Services!
9/11/2023 "Let's Celebrate The High Holidays Together"
9/05/2023 "Pet Shabbat Will Be Purrfect"-Join Us This Friday Night, September 8, at 5:00 p.m. for our Pot Luck Dairy/Vege Shabbat Dinner, and at 5:30 p.m. for our Pet Shabbat Services!
8/28/2023 "Promoting Democracy And Peace In Israel."
8/21/2023 "The Jews Of The Best (West) Coast"- RSVP For This Friday Evening's Introduction to Reconstructionism and University Synagogue, Shabbat BBQ Dinner, Shabbat Alive Services and Prof. Joellyn Zollman!
8/14/2023 "The World Of Our Grandmothers" - RSVP Now For Shabbat Services This Friday Evening!
8/07/2023 "Saving Israel's Democracy"- Join Us For One Of The Most Important Issues Of Our Time."
7/31/2023 "Our Last Beach Shabbat Service of 2023-Don't Miss It!"
7/24/2023 "The Temple Of Our World Is Burning!" RSVP Now For Our Climate Change Services This Friday Evening.
7/17/2023 "It's Better At The Beach!"
7/12/2023 "The Israelis are Coming, the Israelies are Coming! RSVP now for 6:00 p.m. Shabbat Dinner, 7:00 p.m. Shabbat Alive Services, and at 8:00 p.m., SDSU Professor Lawrence Baron will speak about the image of Israel in Hollywood Films and Show Film Cl
6/26/2023 "The Joys And Challenges Of Aging, American Shabbat, Israel In Hollywood, Beach Services: The Next Four Weeks at University Synagogue.
6/20/2023 "The Three Most Important Changes In Jewish Life In The Last 50 Years: The Acceptance of Feminism, Intermarriage and LGTBQ+ Pride.
5/22/2023 "Welcome to Sivan: A Time To Rejoice Through Learning" RSVP For Shavuot Services This Friday Evening.
5/15/2023 "To Be A Jew Is To Question." RSVP here and join us for our in-person services this friday evening and "Ask The Rabbi."
5/08/2023 "A New Way Of Understanding Israel: Exploring It's Art."
5/02/2023 "The Marvelous Month Of May At University Synagogue-Sushi, Shabbat Alive, Comedy, Israeli Art, Ask The Rabbi, Gala, Congregational Meeting And Shavuot!" RSVP Now!
4/24/2023 "Happy 75th Birthday, Israel!"-RSVP now for an Israeli dinner and family Services this Friday night.
4/17/2023 "I Swear: Politics Is Messier Than My Minivan"-Join Us This Friday Evening, April 21, at 7:00 p.m. When Rep. Katie Porter Speaks At Shabbat Alive Services.
4/10/2023 "Won't Be Silent: Continuing Pesach's Message Through Yom HaShoah ( Holocaust Memorial Day) And Beyond."
4/03/2023 "Live Simply, Dream Big, Be Grateful, Give Love And Laugh Lots."
3/27/2023 "It's Never Dayenu At University Synagogue- Join Us For Pesach, The Power Of Music, Rep. Katie Porter, And Israel's 75th Birthday"
3/20/2023 "Ethical Wills: Sharing What We've Learned About Life With Our Family And Friends"
3/13/2023 "Everything, Everywhere, All At Once"-This Friday Evening For 6:00 p.m. Shabbat Dinner, 7:00 p.m. Shabbat Alive Services With The Merage Israeli Fellows And 8:00 p.m. For Our Speaker, NASA Veteran And Flight Controller For Apollo, Dr. Lawrence K
3/06/2023 "Marvelous March: State Senator Dave Min, Women's Seder, Shabbat Alive with the Merage Israeli Executive Fellows, And NASA Veteran Prf. Lawrence Kuznetz, And Our Annual Biblical Trial!
2/27/2023 !yoJ dnA, dooF, semutsoC, nuF, miruP" (Read the letters right to left, Hebrew-style and RSVP for our joyous Purim celebration and carnival this Friday
2/21/2023 "Medical Cannabis And Therapeutic Psychedelics: Alleviating Anxiety And Raising Consciousness"
2/13/2023 "Jewish Masculinity, Feminism And The Rise Of Right-Wing Extremist Anti-Semitism"-RSVP Now For In-Person Shabbat Services This Friday at 7:00 p.m.
2/06/2023 "Eat, Pray, Love Drugs And Laughter!" RSVP Now For The Next Four Weeks Of Our In-Person Shabbat Services
1/30/2023 "Please Help University Synagogue's Ukranian Refugee Family Now, And Be With Us This Friday Night For Refugee Shabbat.
1/23/2023 "In 18 Months, I'll Become Rabbi Emeritus And I Want To Thank You, Now, For Giving My Life And My Rabbinate So Much Meaning"
1/17/2023 "Life And Death, Grief And Healing"
1/09/2023 "The Changing Image Of Jews in American Cinema, The Merage Israeli Executive Fellows, Shabbat Dinner And Shabbat Alive Services"
1/03/2023 "Celebrating The New Year With Joy, Justice And Hope"- This Friday , January 6 at 7:00 p.m.
12/12/2022 "All I Want For Hanukkah Is You!" RSVP For A 5:00 p.m. Latke Dinner, Services and the "Mostly Kosher" Band This Friday, December 16
12/05/2022 "Reflections On The November Elections In Israel And The United States: Good For The Jews And The World?"
11/28/2022 "Gratitude Means Paying It Forward"- Please Join Ruti and Me in a Hanukkah Gift to University Synagogue of $6.85 Per Day.
11/21/2022 "God Optional Judaism And Torah With Benefits"-For Humanists, Naturalists, Skeptics, Agnostics, Atheists And All Who Have Difficulty With Traditional Beliefs- RSVP now for this Friday's 7:00 p.m. Shabbat Service.
11/14/2022 "Gratitude, Mutual Understanding, And Building A Better World"-Join us on Friday, November 18, at 7:00 p.m., at Irvine United Congregational Church For Our 34th Annual Pre-Thanksgiving Service."
11/07/2022 Join US In Honoring Cantor Ruti Braier At This Friday's "Shabbat Alive" Service.
10/24/2022 "Anti-Semitism in America and Around the World: In Memory of Journalist Daniel Pearl and Those Murdered in the Pittsburgh Synagogue." Masks are now optional at services.
10/18/2022 "Jews In Comedy"-RSVP Today
10/07/2022 "The Joy Continues With Sukkot Tonight And Simchat Torah Next Friday Night, Be With Us!"
9/19/2022 "Shana Tova/Happy New Year-Almost"
9/12/2022 "Trial By Jewry: The Tower of Babel"-This Sunday, September 18, 1:00 p.m. RSVP now
9/06/2022 "Not To Be Missed: The Most Interesting Synaplex Shabbat Of The Year-Writer, Director, Producer Adam McKay, The Merage Israeli Fellows, our "Shabbat Alive" Band, Delicious Dinner And Intro Night!"
8/29/2022 "No Pet. No Problem: Syn-A-Pet Shabbat Will Be Purrfect"- This Friday Night, September 2, 5:00 p.m.
8/22/2022 "Going Out Is Really Going In"-Join Us For Beach Dinner And Shabbat This Friday Evening In Laguna Beach
8/15/2022 "From Tevye to Tevye, There's No One Like Tevye: Sholem Alieichem, Fiddler on the Roof, and the Shtetl in Jewish History and Memory"
8/08/2022 "Jews Just Want To Have Fun"
8/01/2022 "Our Resilience In The Face Of Difficult Times: How Did Your Life Change During Covid?"
7/25/2022 "Spies, Sedition And sublime Blessings: The Biblical Book Of Numbers"
7/18/2022 "Have You Ever Seen Anything In Your Life More Wonderful!"-Join Us For Beach Services
7/11/2022 "Our Exodus From Afghanistan: Meet Our Adopted Refugee Family, The Basirats"-RSVP Now For Our July 15 Services
7/05/2022 "Summertime And The Livin' Is Easy"-RSVP For Our Shabbat BBQ Dinner And Americana Shabbat Services
5/31/2022 "If God Didn't Literally Reveal The Torah, Why Do We study It?"-RSVP For This Friday Evening, June 3, As We Celebrate Shavuot
5/25/2022 "Again, Again and Again- Another Mass Shooting"
5/23/2022 "Political Courage and Civic Engagement"-Join Us For Shabbat Services With U.S. Rep. Katie Porter
5/16/2022 "At The Edge Of Land And Sea"-Join Us For Beach Services On A Cliff in Laguna Beach This Friday Evening!
5/09/2022 "In Judaism, Reproductive Rights Favor The Mother"- (RSVP For Rabbi Deborah Waxman This Friday)
5/02/2022 "Celebrate Israel And Honor Heidi Kahn"
4/25/2022 Is "Never Again" Meaningless? RSVP Now For This Friday Evening's Yom HaShoah/Holocaust Memorial Service
4/18/2022 The First Five Days After The Weekend Are The Hardest! That's Why We Need The Holiness Of Shabbat!- Join US This Friday
4/11/2022 "Save The Date-May 6- To Honor Our Beloved Pre-School Director Heidi Kahn And See Some Seder Tips Below
4/04/2022 "Justice, Justice, Shall You Pursue"- RSVP For Women's Connection Shabbat Honoring Annee Della Donna. Also Meet Our New Executive Director, Myka Thompson
3/28/2022 "Sephardic Jewry In History And Today"-Join Us This Friday
3/21/2022 Celebrate With "Homecoming Shabbat: Our Shabat Alive Band, Uc Berkeley Law School Dean Erwin Chemerinsky And Our First Oneg Shabbat In Two Years!
3/14/2022 "Purim Joy, Hilarity, Food, Fun, Costumes And Courage"-RSVP Now
3/07/2022 "Girls, Women and Matriarchs: A Century of Jewish Feminist Inspiration For Us All"-RSVP Now
2/28/2022 "Ukraine: Madness, Murder, And Music"- Join Us This Friday Evening
2/22/2022 "Money And Judaism: Prosperity, Poverty, Pride And Prejudice"- Join Us For Shabbat Services This Friday Evening- RSVP Today!
2/14/2022 "Protecting Democracy And Monitoring Online Hate Speech In A Post-Truth Age," With Guest Speaker, UCI Law Prof. David Kaye-RSVP For This Friday Evening's Shabbat Service!
2/07/2022 "The Book of Exodus: Breaking Chains Is Our Legacy"-RSVP For February 11 Shabbat Services
1/31/2022 "Opposing Anti-Semitism On the Left And The Right"-RSVP For This Friday Evening's Shabbat Service
1/24/2022 "Silent No More: The Heroic Story of Soviet And American Jewry 50 Years Ago-RSVP For this Friday's Emotional Shabbat Service
1/17/2022 We were Strangers, Foreigners, Outsiders And Wanderers"-Join Us For HIAS National Refugee Shabbat This Friday Evening. RSVP Now And Learn About Our Welcom Circles
1/10/2022 Tu Bishvat: Loving Nature, Protecting It And Saving Our World"-Friday Night, January 14
1/03/2022 "Celebrating The New Year With Joy, Justice And Hope"-Friday January 6 at 7:00 p.m.
Fri, July 26 2024
20 Tammuz 5784
About Rabbi Arnie Rachlis
Rabbi Arnold Rachlis has been the spiritual leader of University Synagogue since 1991, guiding us since 1987 from a small havurah looking for a more modern approach to Judaism to a 600+ families center for dynamic and innovative Judaism. He leads with a focus on a humanistic philosophy that sees God not as a supreme being, but as inspiration, creativity, conscience, consciousness and motivating us toward human growth and social justice. Rabbi Rachlis has created a joyous environment which affirms individuality and is inclusive – men and women, gay and straight, Jewishly learned and not, Jewish and not Jewish – welcoming all to learn, explore and connect at University Synagogue.
Fri, July 26 2024 20 Tammuz 5784
