Rabbi Paula Marcus, who leads Aptos’ Temple Beth El, just returned from Israel and the West Bank on a listening tour. She says she knows some have criticized her for not speaking out about the war in Gaza, but she wanted first to better understand how people experiencing the war on both sides are coping. She calls for a bilateral cease-fire and urges us to do what activists she met are doing: working together for peace.
Rabbi Paula Marcus
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Jewish law requires COVID-19 vaccines, and so does Simcha preschool: We must protect the most vulnerable
Temple Beth El’s preschool program, Simcha, is requiring all children, teachers and staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to attend the play-centered program in Aptos. Some families have objected to the temple board’s vaccine decision and have left the program. Rabbi Paula Marcus, the congregation’s longtime leader, argues that caring for the most vulnerable among us, and thus getting ourselves and our children vaccinated, draws directly from the commandment to preserve life — which the Jewish faith places above all others.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Live your biblical values: Support the Park Avenue housing project
The housing development slated for Park Avenue in Soquel offers Santa Cruz County residents a chance to live their values. Supporting the unhoused and needy is a biblical obligation. By embracing the project, Rabbi Paula Marcus argues, we fulfill our religious duties.