Be Jammin' with your friends from TAO as we celebrate Rabbis Shoni and Phil  on Saturday night, May 5, 2012 at Laffing Matterz at the Broward Center.  Join in a special evening of laughter and fun when we will celebrate Rabbis Shoni and Phil Labowitz's 45th Anniversary, 65th and 75th birthdays!! This will be a fun and meaningful evening where we will Celebrate Laughter and Celebrate Life! Sign up now.  Limited Seating.  When it's full, you'll regret that you waited. Please plan to join us!

Click here to view flyer.

Many Thanks

Many Thanks to Dr. Lisa Weiner and Rabbi Shoni Labowitz for helping us get our lives on the right health track at their enlightening program "Alchemy of Health".

Becoming A Bat Mitzvah at TAO  

TAO's Saturday morning services are always special - intimate and meaningful. On the morning of March 24th, as many of you know, I became a bat mitzvah.  It was something that spoke to me as I approached my 60th birthday.  I felt the time was right to acknowledge my deeper connection to Judaism and act on my growing desire to learn and expand through the wisdom of our Torah.

A deepening relationship with Torah is just part of the magic of a b'nai mitzvah. The other part is the people with whom one shares this. On that Saturday morning, the room was overflowing with my TAO family and there was so much love, so much joy, it was palpable. I could feel it as we danced to the Rabbi's soulful music.  I could feel the love coming from everyone in the room and it moved in and through me. I think the glow on my face was really just the reflection of the light and love I felt from my community all around me.

My Torah portion was Vayikra, the first parsha in Leviticus in which the Israelites have just completed building the Tabernacle, the Holy Mishkan; a portable sanctuary where they could enter the stillness and feel the love of God.  Vayikra describes, in great and gory detail, the offerings required by God that included animal sacrifices. On the surface, a very disturbing parsha, but for me, the story is the framework, the shell or klippot that I must crack in order to receive the sweet nugget of wisdom within.

And just as the Tabernacle had a 3-layer roof, I found layers of meaning in this parsha. The Tabernacle itself was, in essence, a temple without walls, much as is our blessed community. We can connect to the stillness anywhere, because we contain the light, not some structure; and we bring that light wherever we assemble.  So the first layer brought new depth to my understanding of TAO and what it means to be a temple without walls.

The sages teach that the Talmud says humans are the world in micro and the world is a human in macro; so we each have within us deserts, mountains, oceans and beasts. When God commanded that there be animal sacrifices, our sages also suggest that beast to slay is the one within. And this led me to the second layer of meaning - the beast within me is that ego-voice wanting me to believe that I am less than who I truly am is the beast to slay.

Through studying this parsha, I learned that "sacrifice" can also mean surrender...which led me to the third layer of meaning here. I realized that I must surrender the notion that I can slay this beast alone.  I realized that I need my community. This blessed community of like-minded spiritual warriors is exactly what I need to help me turn this slaying into a sacred act of loving kindness towards myself.

So as I enter this 60th year, I have learned the true value of a community that always says "Yes"; a community that encourages and inspires me to reach for the stars; a community that is always there to lift me up when I have fallen and let me know it is safe to try and fly again. I want to say thank you to each and every one of you who has, and continues to, inspire me. Rabbi Marc, you are always there for all of us. How do you do that? You are TAO's magnetic north and this community is enriched by you mind, body and soul. Rabbi Philip, your warmth and generosity of spirit is a role model for all of us, and especially for me. You have taught me how to hug deeply and be hugged and for that I am eternally grateful. Rabbi Shoni, you have taught me to look for the poetry in my soul, to stand strong in my beliefs and to seek comfort in everyday living. Father Michel, your gentle way and resolute faith show me that, with God, all things are possible.  If I had to sum up the depth and breadth of my bat mitzvah, I would have to say that I was surrounded by my loving community and was blessed by three rabbis and a priest.  How does it get better than that?

Thank you to all of you who have helped to make this my most special birthday ever.  And finally, a last and important thank you to Jenae Rubin and Renee Greene...I do not have words for what you have given me.  Know that your thoughtfulness and generosity have moved me and transformed something within me.  You are forever in my heart.

Your grateful President,

Anne Goldberg