Our parasha contrasts two ways religious people like us seek reassurance from God. The incident of the Golden Calf illustrates an unproductive, familiar, but ultimately destructive way of seeking divine reassurance. It involves reverting to the familiar, staying stuck in the past. The children of Israel are disoriented Moshe is away from them, atop […]
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Our tradition tells us, “Remember three things and you shall not fall into sin. Know what there is above you: an eye that sees, an ear that hears, and all your deeds are written in a book.” This is what is behind the scenes in Parashat Noach, the seeing eye, the hearing ear, and God’s […]
Moshe (Moses) knew that, in addition to the command of God, he needed other spiritual resources to succeed in life’s journey. How about ourselves? What else do we need to energize and to guide our spiritual journey besides the command of God? In other words, what do we mean when we talk of having a […]
SUKKOT AND THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED On Passover, Jews restage the great event of redemption. Sukkot celebrates the journey from liberation toward the Promised Land. Like our ancestors, we too live precarious, vulnerable lives, dependent upon the sustenance and shelter G-d provides, yet always conscious of the threats around us and the frailty of […]
This is a Sukkot sermon based on Kohelet, the Book of Ecclesiastes, recently preached at Shuvah Yisrael Messianic Synagogue in Plainview, New York. During Sukkot, we turn to the Book of Kohelet (Ecclesiastes), a text dedicated entirely to considering what is truly valuable in life. I appreciate the translation of the book’s core refrain found […]
Almost all of us are driven to distraction. Just climb on a bus or a subway car, open your eyes. Notice how many people are looking at a screen. Looking at their phones. Distracting themselves. Some people would say that it's technology that has driven us to distraction, and they would be right. Based on […]
In case you haven't noticed, the current year is 5785. We have just entered the Jewish New Year! We Jews routinely greet each other with "Shanah Tovah," exchanging a wish for a good New Year during what is known as the Ten Days of Awe between Rosh Hashanah (the beginning of the new year) and […]
I gave up on New York City. I was born there. I lived there until I moved to California a mere fifty years ago. I have three grown children who live there, and one fascinating grandson. All my other relatives are in that area (Florida is a suburb of New York). New York City. It’s […]
The following letter is from this week's Dear Rabby, an advice column in our weekly publication, Shulchan Shelanu. This blog offers a slightly expanded response to the question posed in the letter. Dear Rabby. I am a high school student from a bi-racial family. My Dad is black, and my Mom is a white Ashkenazi […]
I just returned from eleven days in Brooklyn, New York, the city of my birth. I loved being there. I love to walk the streets, to see the faces, to talk with the people I see there. I realized this most recent time in New York that what i feel when I’m there is joy. […]
