February 2, 2024 /23 Sh'vat 5784 זָכ֛וֹר֩ אֶת־י֥֨וֹם הַשַּׁבָּ֖֜ת לְקַדְּשֽׁ֗וֹ׃ — Be mindful of the Sabbath day, to hallow it. That’s how the fourth of the ten commandments begins. ‘Be mindful of’ or [...]
January 26, 2024 /16 Sh'vat 5784 This year Shabbat Beshalach - also known as Shabbat Shira - coincides with International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Beshalach’s narrative centers on the crossing of [...]
January 19, 2024 /9 Sh'vat 5784 The announcement of the tenth plague begins with a strange statement: וַיֹּ֣אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֔ה כֹּ֖ה אָמַ֣ר יְהֹוָ֑ה כַּחֲצֹ֣ת הַלַּ֔יְלָה אֲנִ֥י יוֹצֵ֖א בְּת֥וֹךְ מִצְרָֽיִם׃Moshe said: Thus says YHWH: Around [...]
January 14, 2024 /4 Sh'vat 5784 Good morning! Hinei mah tov u’mah na’im shevet ahayot v’ahim gam yahad. How good it is when sisters and brothers dwell together, sing together, worship together, [...]
January 12, 2024 /2 Sh'vat 5784 At the beginning of Parashat Va’era the Torah employs a string of verbs to describe God’s redemptive actions - וְהוֹצֵאתִ֣י אֶתְכֶ֗ם מִתַּ֙חַת֙ סִבְלֹ֣ת מִצְרַ֔יִם וְהִצַּלְתִּ֥י אֶתְכֶ֖ם מֵעֲבֹדָתָ֑ם וְגָאַלְתִּ֤י אֶתְכֶם֙ [...]
January 5, 2024 /24 Tevet 5784 Yesterday afternoon, our Sheva class (7th graders) spent half an hour gazing at a fire. We frequently work together building fires, but this week [...]
December 29, 2023 /17 Tevet 5784 Gatherings: Large, Small, One-Time, Ongoing Parashat Vayechi ('And he lived') features Jacob's death bed scenes, each accompanied by blessings that the dying patriarch shares [...]
December 22, 2023 /10 Tevet 5784 Haverot and Haverim (Friends) - Wednesday was another intense and challenging day. I am in Israel participating in a Rabbinical Assembly mission whose goals [...]
December 19, 2023 /7 Tevet 5784 Haverot and Haverim (Friends) - It's been an intense and challenging day. I am in Israel participating in a Rabbinical Assembly mission whose goals [...]
December 15, 2023 /3 Tevet 5784 Sunflower field at Kibbutz Kfar Aza Beloved Beth Am Israel Family - I leave for Israel on Sunday morning to be part of a [...]
