“Be a blessing.” That’s God’s instruction to Abram in Genesis 12. Whenever I read these words or think of this teaching, I think of Rabbi Alvin Sugarman. Many years ago he and I were part of a rabbinic panel at The Temple. Rabbi David Baylinson joined us as well. Each of us was asked to […]
Archives for October 2017
A Picture, a prayer, and a song
May we turn towards one another, and not away May our offerings be offerings of peace May we give them freely and from great abundance May the places where we meet be transformed into havens of shalom If only by virtue of our meeting there This song of mine is based on one of […]
Holiday-Free Judaism
For the next month and change there won’t be any major Jewish holidays. That leaves some Jews wondering how to engage “Jewishly” since the holidays provide both an occasion and a script for Jewish experiences. The truth is actually quite simple: Judaism without holidays is, in many ways, much more engaging and fulfilling than Judaism […]
The Blessing of Torah
Yesterday and today are Simchat Torah. Simchat Torah is a holiday that celebrates the end and the beginning of the annual cycle of Torah reading observed by Jewish communities around the world. Every time that Jews study Torah we recite a blessing. That blessing concludes with the words la’asok b’divrei Torah. We thank God for the […]
Science and Religion
As a day school rabbi I work with kids pretty much every day. Having been at it for the last decade, I’m now able to say, somewhat conclusively, that there are certain perennial topics that kids are curious about. One of them is the relationship between science and religion. Because kids seem to linger in […]
Shemini Atzeret
What is Shemini Atzeret? I can’t imagine how many Jews have asked that question and are still left wondering! Here’s a bit of an explanation/interpretation. Shemini Atzeret is a festival that follows immediately on the heels of Sukkot, one of the 3 major festivals of Jewish tradition. Because Shemini Atzeret starts just as Sukkot […]