In just a few days we will gather for our High Holy Days. Congregants from near and far will gather in our newly remodeled sanctuary to welcome the new Jewish Year. The new blue chairs and carpets, large overhead window,…
Torah Thoughts – Ki Tavo – Deuteronomy.26.1-29.8 – “Send Down Your Blessings”
There is a moment in this week’s Torah portion Ki Tavo that touched me to the core. It comes in the second aliyah as we hear from an anonymous Israelite after they have completed their yearly offerings. Standing in front…
Torah Thoughts – Ki Teitzei – Deuteronomy 21:10-25:19 – “Every second, every hour, every day”
It is impossible to read this week’s Torah portion, Ki Teitzei, without thinking about the hostages. The portion is dedicated to societal rules for warfare, beginning with the case of a woman who is being held captive. She must be…
Torah Thoughts – Shoftim – Deuteronomy.16.18-21.9 – “Justice, Justice, Shall You Pursue”
As the identities of the six bodies discovered in Rafa this past weekend were revealed, the Jewish world shook with anger. After nearly a year in captivity, what did Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Ori Danino, Alex Lobanov, Carmel Gat, Almog…
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Torah Thoughts – Re’eh – Deuteronomy.11.26-16.17 – “On Venus, Have We Got a Rabbi”
In one of the stories included in the 1970s science fiction anthology “Wandering Stars”, creatures called Bulbas that look like, “brown pillows, all wrinkled and twisted, with some big gray spots on this side and on that side, and out of…
Torah Thoughts Chukat (Numbers 19:1 – 22:1) Originally from 2018
“Creating a World without Blemish” At the beginning of this week’s Torah portion, Chukat, we learn about a red heifer, that not only had to be completely red, but also without blemish, “she ein bah mum” (Numbers 19:2). This was…
Torah Thoughts -Tetzaveh – Exodus 27:20-30:10 – “Your Way is the Right Way”
Many times in my career as a rabbi, I have been asked about the right way to do a particular Jewish ritual. Whether it is lighting Shabbat candles on Shabbat, putting earth into a grave during a burial, or what…
Cantor’s Pick of the Week – A Cantor on Trial (1931), Leibele Waldman Music by Shulem Secunda, Directed by Sidney M. Goldin – 2/19/24
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Torah Thoughts Terumah Exodus.25.1-27.19 “Built With Love”
There is a plaque right in front of the sanctuary of the synagogue I grew up in listing every single person who contributed to building that currently houses the community. Built in the 1990s, the three-story building replaced the small…