Vineyard Hebrew News Today

Baruch atah adonai elohenu melech ha’olam asher kidshanu bemitzvotav vitzivanu lehadlik ner shel (shabbat ve) yom tov. Blessed art thou, O Lord Our God, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us with Thy commandments, and commanded us to kindle these Sabbath and holiday lights. Amen.   This is the prayer my mother said every […]

To the Editor: Rabbi Yosef Glassman, an attendee of the Jewish Cultural Festival, who once lived and worked on the Island, was quoted in the article as saying that before the Chabad-sponsored Jewish Cultural Festival, Martha’s Vineyard had been a “desert full of Jews, and now they’re sprouting.” This is disrespectful to the historic and […]

“One kid died [of an overdose] and the other was on his way to federal prison for five and a half years for having furnished him drugs that led to his death. He talked to me about this excruciating withdrawal. I remember, we were driving around and he was showing me all the places he […]

Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center The Hebrew Center, at 130 Center St., Vineyard Haven, hosts its annual Community Passover Seder on Thursday, April 6, at 5:30 pm, remotely and in person. Rabbi Caryn Broitman leads the service, which also includes musical accompaniment. It’s a beautiful evening, with a shared sense of community, while practicing something sacred. […]

A roundtable of religious leaders talk about the history and practice of the Sabbath.

While the population at this exclusive venue jumps to 200,000 in the summer, it’s also home to a small but growing year-round population of about 17,000. Like the lighthouses that dot the island’s coasts, Chabad will be there for the long, bustling summer days and the equally long, star-studded winter nights.

The encompassing, floor-to-ceiling wall photograph of the sanctuary of the first Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center warmly embraces us as we walk into “They Planted the Seeds: Creating Jewish Community on Martha’s Vineyard.” The exhibition is packed with stimulating ideas and intriguing objects from both the past and present, historic photographs, and the engrossing voices of […]

By Mardi Moran Mardi Moran is a member of both Grace Episcopal Church and the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center. She is part of the Interfaith Climate Action Team’s writers committee, and in this column she speaks to Ursula Goodenough, a retired biologist living in Chilmark, president of the Religious Naturalist Association, and author of “The […]

Congratulations to our new select board member, Jessica Miller.  Congratulations, too, to everyone who ran and was elected or reelected to positions in town. The candidates running for office and supporters of ballot questions had lovely weather on election day to be outside in front of the Public Safety Building with smiles and signs. They […]

To the Editor:  The COVID pandemic has created many stories and unlike most this is a positive one. Recently, a generous donation of almost 100 N95 masks was made to the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center to distribute to those attending our soon to be reopened sanctuary. The masks had been erroneously shipped and delivered weeks […]