Blog

In this week’s Torah portion, Parshat Yitro, we read the Ten Commandments. The very first one states “I am Adonai Your God who led you out of Egypt.” Egypt is not just a part of our story, it is a part of our very identity. Every Passover Seder asks us to feel, in fact, to live, as if we had personally been freed from slavery in Egypt. The Hebrew word for Egypt, Mitzrayim, means, “from the narrow place.” Not unlike a constricting...Read more...

In our Torah portion this week, the Israelites cross the Sea of Reeds after it parts, enabling them to cross on dry land. Once it collapses behind them, the people taste freedom for the first time, as our tradition states, in 400 years. It must have been an awesome experience, and it is a story that launched thousands of questions: what does God want of us? Why do we have freedom while others remained enslaved? Why did it take so long for God...Read more...

In this week’s Torah portion, parshat Va’era, we begin hearing about the plagues that befell Egypt while Moses tried to get Pharaoh to free the Israelites from bondage. I always found it humorous that while the props my Christian friends’ kids played with on Easter were a bunny and painted eggs, the Jewish children very often played with a bag of plush plague “toys.” As adults, however, we recall the plagues at the Passover...Read more...

On January 1, I was invited to speak at the NAACP’s Jubilee Day gathering. Held each year, the event commemorates the day – January 1, 1863 – that the Emancipation Proclamation took effect, abolishing slavery in the United States of America. While very much a spirited function, I was taken by the number of people, both from the dais and in individual conversation, who expressed outrage at the rise of anti-Semitism and offered to help...Read more...

In this week’s Torah portion, Parshat Vayeshev, we are introduced to Joseph, son of Jacob. Joseph is one of the great archetypal characters of the Torah. Born with the gift of being a prophetic dreamer, and dreaming that his brothers would one day bow down to him, he drives a wedge between himself and his brothers and is cast off by them. Later in his life, the same gift finds him favor with Pharaoh and eventually helps him save the Jewish...Read more...

Next week, Reform Jews from all over the world will converge in Chicago for the Union for Reform Judaism’s Biennial Convention. This gathering of over 6,000 people is an electrifying experience of learning, worship, collegiality, music and celebration of our movement. What is most energizing for me personally is the confluence of old and new and the innovations shared in areas of technology, education, programming, musical repertoire,...Read more...

It is the season of Thanksgiving. This American tradition that began with the coming together of two nations on this soil, reminds us of a sacred message we should reflect on each and every day - to be thankful. Many believe that Thanksgiving was inspired by Sukkot, our fall harvest holiday, because the Puritans, while living in Holland before coming to the New World, lived among Sephardic Jews who observed the festival and were influenced by...Read more...

Vietnam, 1967. Rosh Hashanah 5728. Jewish Marines made camouflage kippot from tent materials, as their way of marking the High Holidays, while simultaneously fighting in the Vietnam War. I heard this story while traveling through Vietnam. This image has stayed with me as a powerful representation of what it means to be both American and Jewish. 

As it has likely become apparent by now, I relate to my Judaism through the...Read more...

Ladies and Gentlemen,
“Antisemitism kills”, that is what Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Halle, Saxony-Anhalt two cities over 4.100 miles apart, located on two different continents are forced to share.

On October 27, 2018 while Shabbat morning services were being held in the Tree of Life Synagogue, eleven people were killed and six were injured. It was the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in the United States.

Not...Read more...

“Hafochbah, hafochbah.” “Turn it, turn it again,” Rabbi Ben Bag-Bag wrote referring to the annual cycle of Torah. We are about to revisit the beginning of the Torah once again as we observe Simchat Torah this Sunday evening. I often ask B'nei Mitzvah students if they understand the basic concepts of algebra, which leads to a conversation about variables. I then share with them that reading Torah is a lot like algebra, in that the...Read more...

As a 10th grade confirmation student, there was a moment in class that struck me each week...and that was roll call. When  Rabbi Rick Jacobs took attendance in class, he taught us that the best response was not: “here” or “yes”, but rather,  “hineini.”  The Biblical expression hineni translates to: “here I am.”  Over the years, the expression hineini  has come to mean that we should strive to be fully...Read more...

On my very first day at Temple Sinai, I walked into my new office. My furniture hadn’t arrived, yet. A computer sat on a card table and on top of the keyboard was a welcome gift from Rabbi Perry. She had bought each of us clergy a rainbow kippah in Israel for us to wear at the Pride Parade. I didn’t even get to attend Pride in October of 2015, but I did in 2016, and it was one of the most memorable days of my life. Over the prior year I...Read more...

Today (Thursday) is the 6th day of Elul, the final month in the Hebrew calendar prior to Rosh Hashanah and the start of a New Year. Jewish tradition lifts up the spiritual significance of this month, challenging us to approach each of Elul’s 29 days with intentionality and an appreciation of the possibility of self-transformation. I have long held that the spiritual potential and experience of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur have a great deal...Read more...

We know a great deal about the life and accomplishments of Moses. But as we navigate through the Book of Deuteronomy, we have an opportunity to learn more about his personal aspirations. Framing the titular text is a repeated refrain from this venerated leader, paraphrased for brevity: “God, I will continue to convey everything you want to me to convey to the Israelites. But would you PLEASE just let me cross over the Jordan River and step...Read more...

Once again, heartache.
Once again, murderous domestic terrorism has wracked our country. 
Once again, hate-filled violence has resulted in unspeakable grief for countless innocents and families. 
Once again, the devastating number of lives lost and injuries suffered has been facilitated by the use of an assault style weapon and the absence of any sensible legislation aimed at curbing the epidemic of gun violence in our...Read more...