Rabbi's Message

This week’s Torah portion is all about sacrifices. The Hebrew word for sacrifice is korban, which means closeness. There are two ways to view an offering: (a) something I give up for G-d, (b) something that draws me close to G-d. The question is what religious worship means to you. When you give up a night out with friends to celebrate Shabbat, did you lose a night out with friends, or did you draw closer to G-d? The bottom line depends on whether you think of yourself or G-d

The Torah portion we read this week is Pekudei, which means accounting. In it, Moses accounts for every donation collected for the Tabernacle and lists them in precise detail. This got me thinking about the accounting we must make every so often to clear up unsettled issues. I am talking about a specific kind of issue—not just pleas for forgiveness we never made or insults we never took back. I am talking about things we should have said that we left unsaid or air we should h

The Megillah tells the story of King Ahasuerus, who could not sleep in the middle of the night. He asked his servants to read the palace...

This week, we read about the vestments worn by the priests and high priests. An elegant tunic, topped by a flowing robe with golden...

G-d instructed Moses to convene a team of superior artisans to lead a team to build the Tabernacle. Though the leaders were superior...

17 Shevat                February 15, 2025 Our sages were fence builders—not in the conventional sense, but metaphorically. The Torah...

In this Torah portion, the Jews made one of history’s most dramatic and romantic statements. When G-d split the Red Sea, they were...

As the hostages return home, they revel in their freedom, but at some point, they will ask themselves why they were liberated. What is...

In a small village in Lithuania, a young boy named Berel received a bicycle as a gift. Berel loved his bike and drove it every day,...

Jacob summoned his son Joseph to his deathbed to share last-minute blessings and instructions. The last agenda item was to grant Joseph’s...

Let me begin by pointing out how profound this Mitzvah is. Abraham was visited by G-d Himself when the angels showed up. Abraham did not...

Jokes about confession abound, but confession is no laughing matter. Judaism takes confession seriously, especially on Yom Kippur.

After several bouts of dizziness and lightheadedness, I was booked for an ECG and given a Holter Monitor to wear for 72 hours. This was...

Giving is the secret to happiness. People who think they can be happy from taking or even receiving quickly learn how wrong they are. Do...

In 1972, Yitzchak Rabin served as Israeli Ambassador to the United States. He had an audience with the Lubavitcher Rebbe, who asked him...