July 16, 2020
סדר עדיפותSeder Adifut Re-Ordering PrioritiesThis week we conclude the Book of Numbers. It seems apt. My family and I have been counting down the days of quarantine […]
July 9, 2020
(a broken peace; The Torah’s letter broken into pieces.) Numbers 25:12 This week’s Torah portion, Pinchas, is an amazing example of the Torah commenting upon itself; […]
July 6, 2020
Gilui Anayim (Uncovered eyes)“The words of one..who sees..with uncovered eyes.” Numbers 24:4 Dear Friends, On Wednesday July 1st, my family and I arrived in Bedford. After […]
June 25, 2020
Dear Friends, So many times have I been asked: “Why did you become a rabbi?” I chose the rabbinate out of love for our Jewish heritage, and […]
June 17, 2020
Dear Friends, Tonight, as we commemorate Pride Shabbat, I think of the good,decent, and loving men and women for whom this month of June has great […]
June 10, 2020
Dear Friends, We Jews who have known so much persecution throughout history: We can surely identify with Black America and the struggle for justice and equality. So it […]
June 4, 2020
Dear Friends, Like all of you, I felt outrage when I first saw that brutal scene of George Floyd on the ground with an officer’s knee […]
May 28, 2020
Dear Friends, Today is the festival of Shavuot, commemorating our receiving the Torah at Mt. Sinai some 3,000 years ago. And even as so much has […]
May 21, 2020
Dear Friends, While it is not possible to touch or weigh the human soul, it isa real part of us as any part of our bodies. […]
May 14, 2020
Dear Friends, This pandemic has caused us to focus a lot on the things that we are living without. No going to restaurants, no movies, no […]
May 5, 2020
Dear Friends, Memory has a central place in our Jewish heritage. The Torah commands us to “remember Amalek” who viciously attacked the Israelites soon after they had […]
April 29, 2020
Dear Friends, Some have said that we are living through a historic event of so-called “biblical proportions.” Yes, it is as a plague that precludes our being […]
April 22, 2020
Dear Friends, This Wednesday Israel will commemorate its 72nd Independence Day. Not only for the people of Israel is it a day of great celebration and introspection. And […]
April 15, 2020
Dear Friends, The Torah speaks this week about dietary laws: those animals that are regarded as clean and acceptable for eating, and those that are regarded […]
April 7, 2020
Dear Friends, Often overlooked in the Passover story is the heroism of two Israelite women. We are told that the Pharaoh decreed that all Israelite male children […]
April 1, 2020
Dear Friends, This is going to be a very different kind of Passover. For many of us, because of the coronavirus, we will not be physically with […]
March 25, 2020
The Coronavirus and a Familiar Prayer There is a prayer that we recite near the end of every service that is known as the Aleynu. The […]
March 18, 2020
We’re told that as the plague of darkness fell upon ancient Egypt, that it was a special kind of darkness. It was a darkness not of […]