Sodom and Gomorrah
Hey, how’s it goin’? It’s been a minute since we last spent moments together in one of these articles. Been busy on my end. You? I’m guessing there’s a lot going on for you too. Crazy world, right? All...Read more...
YK DAY 5783: L’malah L’matah, and Something Else
Yom Kippur 5783, October 5, 2022
When I was a child, in the early 1970’s, to talk about Israel was to express a sense of hope and pride in our Jewish state. It was to feel a sense of security that in a world where old hatreds like...Read more...
Kol Nidre 5783: Like a Wedding
Kol Nidre 5783, October 4, 2022
Every holiday has its own feeling and texture; qualities we associate with it from the span of our lives. The taste and scent of its meals. The clothes we wear. The sound of its music, prayers, and poetry....Read more...
The Crown of Creation: A Sermon for Rosh Hashanah 5758 (1997) and 5783 (2022)
September 27, 2022
Each year I choose one sermon from the past to share again. This year, both as a response to Quiet Quitting and the need for finding balance in our lives, I decided to share this classic sermon from 1997....Read more...
Erev Rosh HaShanah 5783: Shared Humanity
September 25, 2022 - Erev Rosh Hashana 5783
Five years ago, parts of Illinois experienced a full solar eclipse. It was an event. Thousands of people traveled to small towns downstate to experience ‘night’ in the middle of...Read more...
On the Supreme Court, Religion, & Kindness
June 29, 2022
In its recent ruling on abortion, the Supreme Court based its decision on a particularistic, religious view; the belief that human life begins at the moment of conception, and that the life in the womb takes precedence over the life of...Read more...
"I C U"
April 29, 2022
Back when I was studying to be a cantor, I hit a stretch of time that was probably the most challenging that I have been through. Without dramatically laying out all the twists and turns, I will share that our...Read more...
Earth Day Lessons from The Torah
April 22, 2022
As this week’s Torah portion, Achare Mot, begins, God tells Moses to tell Aaron not to enter the most holy space in the Mishkan whenever he desires; because if he does, he’ll probably die.
I don’t know...Read more...
Just Do It
March 18, 2022
Remember that Nike slogan, “Just Do it?” It’s sort of an instruction to just get in action, which is also the basic takeaway from the name of this week’s Torah portion, “Tzav.” That word forms the basis of...Read more...
Helping 200,000 Ukrainian Jews
March 11, 2022
Dear Friends,
It’s been just over two weeks since Russia invaded Ukraine and for the first time since WWII, Europe is a battlefield. While Russia’s army has been unable to subdue Ukraine’s resistance,...Read more...
Eysh u’mayim, fire and water
March 4, 2022
We are at the end of Exodus this Shabbat. The portion is called Pikudei which means records and refers to the records of the tabernacle. A list of the materials used for the building of the Tabernacle or Mishkan are...Read more...
Icebox Symphony
February 25, 2022
A riddle for you: When not cold, this quickly gets really old.
Answer…..Defrosting food that begins to rot...also known as anything that was in my...Read more...
The story of the Golden Calf
February 18, 2022
Dear Friends,
One of America’s foundational principles, the separation of Church and State, makes an appearance in this week’s Torah portion, Ki Tisa, as two Israelite leaders take on very different roles...Read more...
New Year’s Day Shabbat
December 31, 2021
This New Year’s Day Shabbat, we are at the beginning of the Exodus saga with the Torah portion Vaeira. This Hebrew word means “And (God) appeared.” It is referring to God revealing Godself to the biblical...Read more...
