Rabbi's Message

10 Cheshvan November 1, 2025 The people of Sodom were cruel. They barred wayfarers from their city. If anyone was caught hosting a visitor overnight, the visitor and the host were both punished. On one occasion, they tortured and murdered a young girl for feeding a passerby. If a poor person entered their oasis seeking alms, they wouldn’t just turn him away. They would harass and torture him first. Yet, when G-d informed Ab

3 Cheshvan October 25, 2025 The nineteen sixties will forever be associated with the hippie movement; the thrust to break free of the shackles of morality. The argument that all pleasure is healthy and that puritanical restraint is toxic is a product of the sixties. It was a time of unrestrained hedonism and the unraveling of decorum. With it came the unbuckling of societal order and the social structure. The theory was that if a little

A man once petitioned Rabbi Nosson of Breslov for a blessing to find his match. He complained that he had been seeking the right woman for many years and had still not found her. Rabbi Nosson discerned that he was slipping into despair, so he encouraged him, saying, Have hope, young man, remember that Jacob our patriarch was eighty-four by the time he was married. The man retorted that he can’t be compared to Jacob. Jacob was a holy man and could be expected to endure. Plus,

As I write this on Thursday morning, it appears that the hostage exchange will at least begin before Monday evening, the commencement of...

11 Tishrei October 3, 2025 When you think of the Sukkah, you think of walls and sechach—a foliage roof. Yet, the name...

G-d created the world through speech, and the words with which He created us are very much like flames. “Behold, my words are like...

Minutes of formal meetings always end with a list of actionable items. Committees love to talk and to hear themselves talk, but if the...

This week, we make a dramatic declaration in our Torah reading: “You have singled out G-d . . . and G-d has singled you out” (Deuteronomy...

When You Are on Your Own We humans are social creatures; we are not designed to live alone. We prefer companionship, connection, and...

A good friend recently lost his father. I meant to call him as soon as I heard, but he was sitting Shivah in Mexico. So, I told myself I...

Every year, on the last Shabbat before Elul—the final month of the year, we read a Torah portion that begins with the word reeh—see. The...

Rain doesn’t fall often in Israel. There is a rainy season that feeds the river, tributaries, and the lake, but rain isn’t always in...

10 Av August 4, 2025 The Torah portion we read this week discusses Moses pleading for...

Suffering is sadly familiar to Jews. We have a long and painful history of suffering. Our sages taught that the Torah was given on Mount...

This week we will read a combined Torah portion. The first is called Matot, the second is called Masei. Matot, at least in the context of...

I was walking with a friend, one Shabbat, and as we reached the crosswalk, he bent to push the button to stop the traffic. I reminded him...

When speaking of lighting the candles in the Temple, the Torah uses an unusual euphemism. Rather than saying lighting the candles, it...

In this week’s Torah portion, we read about the priestly blessing. G-d designates the kohanim (priests) to be blessers of the Jewish...

Every year, we read a Torah portion called Bamidbar—in the desert—on the Shabbat before Shavuot. This portion describes the census of the...

On Friday, May 16, Jews around the world will celebrate Lag Ba’omer. Lag Ba’omer is a joyous day. In Israel, thousands flock to Miron,...