For the first time since last summer, I received two tzeva adommessages on my phone this week. Those are the red alerts that I wanted to get in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Israel during the Gaza War. The message indicated a “state-wide” alarm, but I didn’t hear of any attacks, so maybe Continue Reading »
I’m not a kohen, nor were my father and grandfather. But that never stopped me from loving birkat kohanim, the priestly blessing. I’ve never used it liberally–you may notice that I don’t bestow it on Bnai-Mitzvah children–but I loved receiving it from my parents and so I love using it to bless my own kids at Continue Reading »
What does the word wilderness mean to you? As we begin reading the fourth book of the Torah, Sefer Bemidbar, we note that while its common English name isNumbers, the Hebrew term describes more than just the census in the first section of the book. Bemidbar is about the Israelite journey to the Promised Land. Continue Reading »
If you read the Torah, it’s all so simple. On one hand, “Im behukotai teleikhu–If you follow My laws and faithfully observe My commandments, I will grant your rains in their season…” (Leviticus 26:3-4). And on the other hand, “Ve-im lo tishme’u li–But if you do not obey Me…I in turn will do this to Continue Reading »
One of my favorite descriptions of Jewish living is that we are not supposed to live according to what the Torah says; rather, we are to behave according to what the Rabbis say the Torah says. The difference is at times rather significant, to say the least. In this week’s portion, we have a classic Continue Reading »
The second of this week’s two Torah portions, Kedoshim, demands of us that we live a life of holiness, in relation to God and to each other. Its central verse, “ve-ahavta lerei’akha kamokha–love your fellow as yourself”–is considered to be the most crucial of all passages in the Torah. For that reason, we chose to Continue Reading »
“A plague on your house” may be a great curse, especially in Yiddish, but not if you’re on the receiving end of it. The two Torah portions we read this week, Tazria and Metzora, deal with various forms of tzara’at, including tzara’at habayit, some kind of eruption in the walls of the house. In our Continue Reading »
Last Shabbat, on the last day of Pesah, we spoke about our people’s history of persecution, as expressed in the seder toastV’hee She’amdah. Today, as I write this message, we are observing Yom HaShoah veHaGevurah, the day we commemorate the victims of the Holocaust and those who resisted. And we know that the world has Continue Reading »
Something peculiar happens during the seder (many peculiar things happen, of course, which is why we ask questions) that requires special attention. As we tell the story of our rescue, we learn that our time in Egypt was predestined. After all, God told Avram (Genesis 15:13-14) that his descendants would be enslaved in a foreign land, but Continue Reading »
How do we celebrate our independence as Americans? Well, on July 4, we get the day off from work, we often get together for a barbeque, share an adult beverage, maybe even participate in a Fourth of July parade, and finish our day with Fireworks by Grucci. We wear our American flag t-shirts from Old Continue Reading »
