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…
Torah Thoughts – Ha’azinu – Deuteronomy 32:1-32:52 – In honor of Moses’ final poem, one I wrote
In honor of Moses’ final poem, one I wrote recently about my inability to blow the shofar. Enjoy! Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi Alex “Shofar Lessons” Squish your lips Like a fish kiss Press them against the handle And let them vibrate…
Torah Thoughts – Nitzavim/Vayeilech – Deuteronomy.29.9-31.30 – “Raising Our Tents in Preparation for Rosh Hashanah”
Outside the Everett House on the campus of the Chautauqua Institute is a display of a tent from 1870. Unlike the elaborate popup tents of today, the design of the 19th century was simple – a tall wooden pole, a…
Torah Thoughts – Rosh Hashanah – Genesis 21:1-34 – “My Letter to the Children Born After 9/11”
To my three children, and the 100 million plus Americans under the age of 25, let’s talk. The silver anniversary of 9/11 is today and I need to tell you why it matters. When I was growing up, Pearl Harbor…
Torah Thoughts – Ki Tavo – Deuteronomy 26:1-29:8 – “Can you see Toronto from Highmark Stadium?”
Last week, Boaz and I, like so many fellow congregants, made the trek out to Orchard Park to see the new Highmark Stadium. As part of the open practice, we were given carte blanche to see the entirety of the…
Torah Thoughts – Ki Teitzei – Deuteronomy.21.10-25.19 – “Shedding the Garments of Captivity”
“Shedding the Garments of Captivity” With clothes ready to get dirty and a determination to make a difference, I joined fourteen other Jewish Federation employees to paint the second floor of the Cornerstone Manor on North Street in Buffalo. A…
Torah Thoughts – Shoftim – Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9 – “A New Highmark Peptalk”
The first kick off at the opening preseason game at Rich Stadium on August 17, 1973, did not go as expected. Washington running back Herb Mul-Key ran it back for a102-yard touchdown. The good news is that very few fans…
Torah Thoughts – Re’eh – Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17 – “Future Orientation”
Moses does not speak to the past. He speaks to the future. Here in Deuteronomy, as he nears his death, he projects out what the community will look like when it crosses the Jordan into the Promised Land. At the…
Torah Thoughts – Eikev – Deuteronomy – 7.12-11.25 – “Counting Down to High Holy Days”
When addressing a group of rabbis several years back, a colleague of mine quipped, “this week we begin the Book of Leviticus, the moment rabbis begin worrying about High Holy Days.” It was March. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur were…
Torah Thoughts – Vaetchanan – Deuteronomy.3.23-7.11 – “Laying the Foundation”
Twenty-five years ago, or so, I sat down in a room with a dozen or so people and came up with a framework for an overnight summer camp that didn’t exist yet, what would be the first camp in the…