Here’s a video of this week’s Torah Thoughts read by the Rabbi if you’d prefer not to read it: Torah Thoughts with Rabbi Alex – Parashat Naso Torah Thoughts Naso 5777 Fifty years ago today, two simultaneous things happened that…
Torah Thoughts Bamidbar 5777
Here’s a video of this week’s Torah Thoughts read by the Rabbi if you’d prefer not to read it. The first time I traveled to Israel was in 1989. It was a difficult year there, with the first Intifada in…
Torah Thoughts Emor
Here’s a video of this week’s Torah Thoughts read by the Rabbi if you’d prefer not to read it: Torah Thoughts This week, in Parashat Emor, we learn of the downside of being a priest. Not only are there restrictions…
Torah Thoughts Acharei Mot/Kedoshim
Here’s a video of this week’s Torah Thoughts read by the Rabbi if you’d prefer not to read it: Torah Thoughts For a larger, printable version, click here: Torah Thoughts Torah Thoughts Acharei Mot/Kedoshim This Friday night, Cantor Frank and I…
Torah Thoughts Tazriah Metzorah 5777
Here’s a video of this week’s Torah Thoughts read by the Rabbi if you’d prefer not to read it: Torah Thoughts Tazria/Metzorah with Rabbi Alex Between my mother and my Uncle Jeffrey, my grandmother gave birth to another daughter who…
Torah Thoughts Shmini 5777
Here’s a video of this week’s Torah Thoughts read by the Rabbi if you’d prefer not to read it: Torah Thoughts by Rabbi Alex, Parashat Shemini In the year 1752, Benjamin Franklin may or may not have sent a kite…
Torah Thoughts – Passover
Can there be a Passover Seder anywhere in the world where “Dayenu” isn’t sung? The catchy melody, apparently with roots in medieval Germany, has been a hand-me-down for generations of Jews. Sung just before the eating of the Seder meal,…
Torah Thoughts Tzav
We were preparing to bring out the cake at my youngest son’s fourth birthday party. The candles were ready, the kids were all looking over… the only thing left to do was to turn off the lights. But, when I…
Torah Thoughts Vayakhel-Pikudei
When Frank Lloyd Wright and Rabbi Mortimer J. Cohen collaborated to design Temple Beth Shalom in Elkins Park, PA in the early 1950s, they were looking to redefine synagogue architecture. They took elements of the Jewish star, a translucent tent,…
Torah Thoughts – Ki Tisa
When most people hear the words, “he threw down the Tablets from his hands and smashed them,” they think of the most dramatic moments in all of Torah. These words come from this week’s Torah portion, Ki Tisa, and the…