Blog

This past week, the Jewish community observed the festival of Shavuot. Originally a holiday with an agrarian connection, it has now become intricately connected to the giving of the Torah by God to Moses on Mount Sinai and the moment when the Jewish people became newly consecrated to God. Many chose to observe the festival through study sessions that went late into the night and by following a custom of eating dairy foods, a tough beat for...Read more...

When we study texts related to Moses’ climbing of Mount Sinai to receive the Torah, I like to ask myself the following recurring question, "Which was the most difficult step for Moses?" Was it the first step into the unknown, that step alone, that step away from his people, his community, and his familiar yet unfamiliar role with the Israelites? Was it the last step when he was so close to accomplishing his goal that he feared its...Read more...

On Tuesday of this week, we observed Israel’s 76th Day of Independence, Yom Ha’atzma’ut. Customarily a day of unbridled joy, especially in Israel, this year’s celebration was somewhat muted for the majority of Israelis who continue to wrestle with…. the realities of the prolonged war with Hamas along with a concern about escalating conflicts with Hezbollah, consuming worry about the fate of loved ones, friends and citizens still...Read more...

When we think the ripple effects of October 7th cannot get any more jarring or surprising, somehow the news continues to shock and disturb.

Our colleague Rabbi Dan Levin summed up exactly what many of us have wanted to say about the violent and hateful protests and tent encampments taking over college campuses. You can find his remarks here.

Like many of you, this post October 7 world continues to fill me with rage, fear, and...Read more...

Rabbi Annie Villarreal-Belford writes, “Passover is our celebration of redemption. We remember that in ancient Egypt, we were slaves; we celebrate our miraculous exodus and freedom. We raise each of the four cups of wine to acknowledge the joy we feel that we live as free people today. This year, however, our joy is tempered with the knowledge that not all Jews are free….” 

In truth, the fact that more than 130 men, women,...Read more...

We spent the past week in Colombia with family. My sister-in-law is Colombian and our niece and nephew (the exact same ages as our kids) spend much of their school vacations and summers in Colombia. We were grateful for the invitation to join them for spring break and looked forward to lots of family bonding. 

What was so unique about the experience was that we were not just tourists exploring a city; but...Read more...

For a few years I have been fascinated with the transitions from one book of Torah to another. Each book is so different from the others they could each be their own movie about the Jewish people. Not unlike the Star Wars movies, they don’t necessarily need to be viewed in order, and in fact, in more traditional communities, it is often the third book, Leviticus that is the one introduced to children first.

If Genesis is about our...Read more...

Nehama Leibowitz, among the great teachers of modern Judaism, posits a controversial thesis: that Judaism is more concerned with the holiness of time than the holiness of physicality and space. She argues that, when the Israelites built the golden calf (which we studied last week), they were in the midst of a faith emergency, feeling isolated and alone in the wilderness due to a 40-day stay atop Mt. Sinai featuring Moses and God. In the wake...Read more...

In Pirkei Avot, “Ben Azzai taught: Do not disdain any person. Do not underrate the importance of anything, for there is no person who does not have their hour, and there is no thing without its place in the sun.”

We spent an entire year studying what it means to “belong.” The four steps to belonging were identified as Noticed, Named, Known and Needed. But those are not enough. Accessibility is also key. Our Hineini committee...Read more...

When the world rejoices, the artist creates. When the world hurts, the artist creates. When the world sees despair, the artist creates, when the world is in awe, the artist creates. The artists’ creations of every age are a direct reflection of the world they inhabit. Every medium speaks to their times and influences one another. Some pieces are so poignant that they are timeless and ultimately speak to the broad themes of life that surface...Read more...

We know that when we hear the words, “Please rise for Aleinu,” we are nearing the end of a worship service. The Aleinu (translated as, “it is upon us”) is a punctuation mark, a culminating statement for just having prayed an entire service, that states, “It is upon us to praise God.” From my very “Glatt-Reform” childhood days, I remember us singing these words in English. “Let us adore the ever-living God and render praise...Read more...

During my brief time in Israel last month as part of a rabbinic solidarity mission, several people with whom we met shared a version of the following message: “Thank you for coming; your presence here means more than we can express, especially as we know you are now battling a second front of this war in the States.” They were referring, of course, to the explosion of virulent expressions of antisemitism now rampant on college campuses,...Read more...

In 1992, the minister Gary Chapman wrote the popular book The Five Love Languages documenting the ways in which most romantic partners feel loved by one another. If you are not familiar, they are words of affirmation, gifts, quality time, physical touch, and acts of service. Each of our love languages might be different. Knowing how your partner feels loved is key to a fulfilling relationship.

I’m not just saying this because...Read more...

Perhaps you have heard this famous maxim from the Talmud: “if you save one life, it is as if you have saved the entire world.” A corollary to that is also true in Jewish thought: if you comfort one life, it is as if you comforted the entire world.

This week, the Sinai community fulfilled this mission. When faced with the insurmountable task of addressing the magnitude of the October 7th massacre and its aftermath, we embraced this...Read more...

Throughout these past two months since the terrorist attacks of October 7, we have endeavored to infuse a sense of Israeli spirit, pride, and staunch support into every realm of Sinai life. Informative conversations and classes, speakers, dignitaries, and presentations, solidarity services, special prayers for this difficult time in Jewish life, tzedakah collections, podcasts, articles, rabbinic columns, sermons, outreach to our students, and...Read more...