In Hebrew, the central character of this week’s Torah portion, Noah, rolls off your tongue.  Just two letters – Nun and Chet – it means “to rest” or “to be at peace.”  In English it’s a whole other matter completely. …

The Book of Genesis is comfort food for the Jewish people.  Like a good bowl of mac and cheese, or a Tim Horton’s donut, or, my personal favorite, a bowl of Cheerios, we start out with things so familiar we…

When entering Congregation Shir Shalom, you are greeted by two large canvases painted by the late Harvey Breverman.  On one canvas are a group of teenagers gathered with their backs largely toward us, only one young man has his face…

Every building in Israel is required to have access to a bomb shelter.  These are not necessarily separate structures but safe spaces inside stairwells and showers, where in the event of an attack, people will be safe.  Depending on where…