Torah Thoughts – Passover – Exodus 33:12-34:26 – “Asking the Hard Questions”
One of my favorite memories of our CSS Passover Second Night Seders, was when our youngest child, Noam, recited the “Mah Nishtanah” in front of the whole community. He was three-years-old and we had been prepping him for weeks, but…
Torah Thoughts – Tzav – Leviticus 6:1-8:36 – “The Mitzvah of Burnt French Fries”
The incident happened so quickly there was little time to react. One of my children decided to heat up oil on the stovetop to make French fries. When they took the top off the pot, a giant flame burst forth. …
Torah Thoughts – Vayikra – Leviticus.1.1-5.26 – “Embrace the Macabre”
The brother of a friend from high school wanted to go into the film business. He was especially fond of horror movies, showing off simple tricks to make special effects like they did in Hollywood. Spaghetti, for example, when broken,…
Scout Shabbat Service

Torah Thoughts – Vayakhel-Pikudei – Exodus.35.1-40.38 – “Waiting for the All Clear”
My sister-in-law spent the holiday of Purim in a bomb shelter. Her children, my niece and nephew, had been called up for reserve duty and were heading off to the Northern Front. But despite the dire mood across Israel, she,…
Torah Thoughts – Titzaveh – Exodus 27:20–30:10 – “The Joy of Holy Partnership”
In the Torah, shemen katith, beaten olive oil, was considered the best. Made by pounding or crushing the olives with a mortar rather than using machinery, the process produces clear, pure oil, the only oil allowed to be used in…
Torah Thoughts – Terumah – Exodus.25.1-27.19 – “Offerings of the Heart”
Check this out, just since October our Tikkun Olam committee has conducted a High Holy Day food drive, hiked at Reinstein Woods, donated warm socks to the Friends of Night People, walked with Run for Their Lives Buffalo, collected dog…
55 Blessing After Haftarah CONSERVATIVE
Torah Thoughts – Mishpatim – Exodus.21.1-24.18 – “The Challenge of Snow Days”
Deciding on a snow day is hard. I’ve made enough of these difficult calls for Shir Shalom, to sympathize with our local school superintendents every time the weather in January and February gets a little murky. How much ice, how…