The Room We Built Together
Rosh Hashanah 5787 at Neshamah I have been leading High Holy Day services for more than twenty five years, and I still get a little…
Make Someone Smile Every Day
Everett drew a Torah portion that asks a hard question, and he did not dodge it. Nitzavim means standing. Vayelech means and he went. In…
Neshamah Online Hebrew School opened for the new year
Twenty five years in, the first day of Hebrew school still gets me. Even when the hallway is a gallery view and the kids are…
Adventures of the First Day of Hebrew School
We started with a scavenger hunt through the sanctuary. Find the ner tamid. Find the Torah. Find how many Jewish stars you can spot in this…
The Moon Rose Orange, Magical Beach Shabbat
I have led a lot of Shabbat services in my twenty-seven years as a rabbi, in a lot of different rooms. None of them can…
Tova’s Bat Mitzvah at The Neshamah Institute | Vayeishev & A Good Name
Every so often a student’s name turns out to be the whole point of their Torah portion. That is Tova. Brothers, a Coat, and the…
Alexa’s Bat Mitzvah at The Neshamah Institute | Vayeitzei & Waiting for the Dream
Some Torah portions ask us to move forward. Alexa’s asked her to wait, and that turned out to be exactly the lesson she needed. A…
Valentina’s Bat Mitzvah at Neshamah: Kindness, Legacy, and Strength
A Chain She Now Carries Valentina opened her service by reminding everyone what a Bat Mitzvah truly means: becoming responsible for doing good in the…
Sam’s Bar Mitzvah at Neshamah: A Story of Courage and Kindness
There is a particular kind of quiet I have come to recognize in the weeks before a Bar Mitzvah. It shows up in a slightly…
Devarim Torah Study: What Moses Knew About Memory
What Moses Knew About Memory: Reflections from Our Devarim Torah Study This week, our Devarim Torah study crossed a threshold. After seven weeks together, we…
Lucas’s Bar Mitzvah | A Story of Family and Memory
Lucas’s Bar Mitzvah Lucas stood before our community and did something I ask of every Bar and Bat Mitzvah student, but that not every thirteen…
Dylan Becomes a Bat Mitzvah: A Leap of Faith at The Neshamah Institute
Dylan’s Bat Mitzvah at The Neshamah Institute felt like a promise, one she made to herself, to her family, and to the generations who came…
Jared’s Bar Mitzvah Celebration: A Story of Family, Faith, and Friendship
Jared’s Bar Mitzvah I want to share a little about Jared’s journey to the bimah, because his story is one of resilience, love, and the…
Jewish Wedding in New Orleans: Jamie and Ross
A Permanent Party With Deep Roots: Jamie and Ross Some weddings hold a piece of your heart before the ceremony even begins. Officiating a Jewish…
Virtual Shabbat Candle Lighting Every Friday | Light Up Shabbat
Virtual Shabbat Candle Lighting Every Friday evening the world gets a little quieter, and a little brighter. That is the moment our virtual Shabbat candle…
Shabbat Recap: Wandering, Wondering, and Welcoming a New Bar Mitzvah
May Shabbat Recap Our May Shabbat was one of the highlights of my year. Here’s what it felt like to be in the room. Candles,…
Spring Mitzvah Fair Recap at SOS Children’s Village | Neshamah Institute
Our Spring Mitzvah Fair gave Neshamah families a kind of afternoon that is the essence of who we are: a community that Jewish values put…
A Destination Wedding Full of Love: Ariel and Jeremy’s Mexico Celebration
I had the honor of officiating in Mexico this June, for an incredible couple named Ariel and Jeremy. It was a magical experience! Not only…
Spirituality of the Torah | Online Jewish Learning | Neshamah Institute
Online Torah Study South Florida One of the things I love most about summer is also the thing that used to challenge me a little.…
Our New Hebrew Reading Program: Why Parents Are Saying “He Loved It!”
A parent texted me after her son’s very first session in our new Hebrew reading program. “First session, he loved it! The way she structured…
The Torah Portion That Was Always His: Emerson’s Bar Mitzvah and the Brother He Carries
I have known Emerson for years. I remember him as the little brother, bright-eyed and full of energy, looking up at his older brother Noah…
Wrapped in Tradition: A Bar Mitzvah at the Neshamah Institute in Delray Beach
A Picture Worth 1,000 Words This photo from Devin’s Bar Mitzvah says it all. Proud parents, a shy but hardworking kid, and a loving family…
From the Desert to Boca: Celebrating Ian’s Bar Mitzvah
From the Desert to Boca: Celebrating Ian’s Bar Mitzvah This May, our Neshamah community had the joy of watching Ian become a Bar Mitzvah. And…
Bar Mitzvah in Boynton Beach: How Tyler Honored a Hostage on His Special Day | The Neshamah Institute
He Remembered: Tyler’s Bar Mitzvah and the Promise He Made There are Bar Mitzvah speeches, and then there are Bar Mitzvah speeches that stop the…
Sasha’s Bat Mitzvah at The Neshamah Institute | Goats & Accountability
Sasha’s Bat Mitzvah: What a Goat Taught Us About Growing Up There is a moment in every bat mitzvah that I live for. It is…
A Bar Mitzvah and Parshat Nitzavim: How One Young Man Chose to Stand | The Neshamah Institute
Ethan’s Torah portion was Nitzavim, and it could not have been a better fit. In Nitzavim, Moses gathers every single member of the Israelite community…
Rotary Club Joins Neshamah Cooking Crew to Feed Neighbors in Need | Neshamah Institute
This month, the Neshamah Cooking Crew looked a little different. Instead of our usual crew of community members, our kitchen was filled with members of…
A Bar Mitzvah at Neshamah | Celebrating Noah
Most Bar Mitzvahs are beautiful. Some are moving. And every once in a while, one stops the room. Noah’s Bar Mitzvah was that kind. Noah,…
Beach Shabbat Boca Raton | Neshamah Institute
Wind, Warmth, and the Light We Carried Together Beach Shabbat in Boca Raton, April 10, 2026 There is something about Beach Shabbat that no sanctuary…
Join Us: Spring Mitzvah Fair at SOS Children’s Village
There Are Kids Right Here Who Need Us Twelve miles from Boca Raton. Twenty minutes from Delray Beach. On a campus in Coconut Creek that…
What Your Family Will Actually Do at the Mitzvah Fair
A Morning That Feels Different Let me tell you what a Spring Mitzvah Fair morning looks like. Not the philosophical version. The practical, on-the-ground version.…
Why Neshamah Partners With SOS Children’s Village for Our Annual Mitzvah Fair
The Kids Are Right Here When we started planning the Spring Mitzvah Fair, the most important question wasn’t logistical. It was moral. Who do we…
Tikkun Olam: What It Really Means and How We Practice It | Neshamah Institute
The Phrase We Use Without Thinking Tikkun olam. Repair the world. You see it on fundraising materials. You hear it at B’nai Mitzvah services. It…
Passover at Hebrew School: Fun Songs, Edible Seder Plates & Spiritual Meaning
Passover is a holiday that was made for children. The seder is designed to spark curiosity, invite questions, and draw the youngest participants right into…
The Stories You’ve Heard Your Whole Life Have More to Say
The Stories You’ve Heard Your Whole Life Have More to Say Inside Neshamah’s adult Torah study, where Genesis and Exodus keep turning out to be…
What Is a Mitzvah Project? A Jewish Guide for Families | Neshamah Institute
More Than a Checklist If you’ve been through a B’nai Mitzvah preparation process, or even just heard about one, you’ve probably encountered the phrase ‘mitzvah…
A Bat Mitzvah and the Shema: What One Young Woman Taught Her Community | The Neshamah Institute
Isabella stood before her community in January 2026 and said something so simple and so true that the room went quiet. By Rabbi Amy Rader…
Rabbi Amy Rader officiated her son Caleb’s wedding to Jess in South Florida. A personal reflection on love, Torah, and the sacred work of marrying your own child.
When the Rabbi Is Also the Mom Officiating My Son Caleb’s Wedding | By Rabbi Amy Rader, The Neshamah Institute Officiating a wedding is…
65 Proposals for the Jewish Future and the Conversation We Are Still Having
65 Proposals for the Jewish Future and the Conversation We Are Still Having What happens when a Neshamah adult class picks up David Hazony’s Jewish…
Beach Shabbat in Delray Beach | Join Us April 10 | Neshamah
The Ocean Has Always Known How to Keep Shabbat Beach Shabbat Havurah | Friday, April 10, 2026 | Delray Beach, Florida Rabbi Amy Rader |…
Neshamah Cooking Crew: Feeding Our Neighbors with Love | The Neshamah Institute
Seven people. Three extra large vegetable lasagnes. One enormous fruit salad. And a whole lot of heart. The Neshamah Cooking Crew gathered in the kitchen…
Twin B’nai Mitzvah Miami Beach | The Neshamah Institute
There is something extraordinary about a Bar Mitzvah. A young person steps forward, takes the Torah in their hands, and says in front of everyone…
Bar Mitzvah Boca Raton | Daniel’s Story | Neshamah Institute
They came to us with a question many families are afraid to ask out loud.Mark and his wife had a son, Daniel, who was 11…
A Jewish Wedding Story | Mayya & Jacob | Neshamah Institute
Growing Up Together Celebrating Mayya & Jacob’s Jewish Wedding Officiated by Rabbi Amy Rader | The Neshamah Institute, Boca Raton, FL There is a…
Jewish Ocean Wedding in South Florida | Rabbi Amy Rader | Neshamah Institute
Love Like Water Celebrating Ellie & Spencer’s Jewish Wedding Under the Stars Officiated by Rabbi Amy Rader | The Neshamah Institute, Boca Raton, FL October…
Jewish Wedding in Boca Raton | by Rabbi Amy Rader | Neshamah Institute
There are moments in a rabbi’s life that feel like the closing of a beautiful circle. Officiating Sydney and David’s Jewish wedding ceremony this past…
Purim + Shabbat at Neshamah: Karaoke, Joy & a Soul Mates Reunion | Boca Raton
The Neshamah Institute • Boca Raton, Florida There are evenings that remind you exactly why community exists. At Neshamah this Purim, we did not just…
Why Welcoming Shabbat by the Ocean Changes You
Join Our Upcoming Beach Shabbat There’s a Reason We Do This at the Water In the Kabbalah, Shabbat is personified as a bride. We go…
New to Boca Raton? Here’s How to Find Your Jewish Community
Join Our Upcoming Beach Shabbat You Just Moved to South Florida. You Want Jewish Community. Start Here. Moving to a new city is exciting and…
Shabbat on the Beach with Kids: A Family-Friendly Tradition in South Florida
Join Our Upcoming Beach Shabbat Your Kids Will Actually Love This Version of Shabbat If you’ve ever tried to keep a four-year-old still and quiet…
You Grew Up Jewish But Don’t Go to Temple – Beach Shabbat Is for You
Join Our Upcoming Beach Shabbat You Grew Up Jewish But Don’t Really ‘Do’ Synagogue Anymore. We Get It. Maybe you had a Bar or Bat…
Beach Shabbat in Boca Raton: What It Is & Why You Should Come
Join Our Upcoming Beach Shabbat What If Shabbat Felt Like the Beach? Close your eyes for a second. The sun is low on the horizon,…
YK Yizkor The Red Dress
There’s a story that Cheryl Strayed tells about her mother that has stayed with me, and I believe it speaks to something profound about love,…