Rabbi’s Torah Thoughts

At the shiva service for Dr. Morris Unher of blessed memory, the line of people to greet the family extended all the way to the door.  All of them had one thing in common: he had assisted in their birthing…

Last week, I had an opportunity to watch the musical “Come From Away” at Shea’s 710 Theatre.  The 2017 Broadway production tells the true story of the 38 flights stranded for several days in Gander, Newfoundland after 9/11.  The seven…

For Ronnie Dubrowin a butterfly moment is one where we push against our outer limits and achieve something far beyond what we could originally imagine.  During her talk last Shabbat at the Sisterhood Paid-Up Luncheon, she described the first marathon…

The Erie Canal was not built in a day or two or three.  The idea for it was generated in the 1780s.  Construction officially started in 1817 and went until 1825, but the canal continued to be developed until 1918. …

If you leave off the animals, the flood, the rainbow and any other specific details of the story of Noah, what you are left with is an immigration tale.  Displaced by violence and an ecological disaster, our Biblical protagonist sets…

As frustrating it is to start back at the beginning, it can be liberating as well.  Reading the first lines of Genesis again is an opportunity to find new interpretations and new meanings.  While the Torah is the same, we…

As always, on Ha’azinu, Moses’ last poem to the People of Israel, I share a poem.  This one is taken from a Jewish Italian poet named Umberto Saba (1883-1857).  He converted to Judaism as a young man, and then, refused…

Perhaps the strangest commencement speeches of all time began with a few opening remarks given in a high-pitched awkward stutter, followed by the words: “You are all here to listen to a frog.” By frog, he was referring to perhaps…

In the chorus to the hit 1983 song “I’m Still Standing,” Elton John triumphantly announces to the world:  “Don’t you know, I’m still standin’ better than I ever did?/ Lookin’ like a true survivor, feelin’ like a little kid/And I’m…

In looking through the Torah recently, I noticed something subtle but important.  While most portions are relatively easy to find.  Their initial verses are unusual enough that they stand out.  This is not the case with either this week or…