“Now Israel (Jacob) loved Joseph best of all his sons, for he was the child of his old age. Thus he had made for him an ornamented, multicolored tunic.”  (Genesis 37:3) I have to admit that I have always been intrigued by Joseph’s famous coat...

“And the twins struggled in her womb, and she said, “If so, why do I exist?” And she went to inquire of the LORD. And the LORD answered her, “Two nations are in your womb. Two separate peoples shall issue forth from your body. One people shall...

This week’s portion, Vayera, ends with the Akedah (“the binding”), one of the most difficult and challenging narratives in the entire Bible. Isaac was born to Abraham and Sarah in their old age. God decides to put Abraham to the test and tells Abraham...

One of the great privileges I have as a congregational rabbi is meeting with thoughtful, earnest adults who are interested in joining the Jewish People. They almost always come to our meetings armed with the many books they have already devoured and...

In Jewish thought, Creation and Revelation are considered ongoing, renewable and recyclable. Ideas recorded in the biblical text are often highlighted through liturgy. In the morning, we recite or chant the prayer Yotzer Ohr which refers to God as “former...

There is a popular saying: Beginnings are difficult. It holds true whether it is beginning an article for the paper, a new position in one’s vocation, a new school in one’s education, a new relationship or a new year. Beginnings are awkward,...

I was sitting with the truthful linguist, the Sefat Emet, the Gerer, just before he became nifter, er dead, it must have been ’04, maybe ’05 [note: 1905]. The sukkah is a chuppah, he opened with. We wedded God on the way out of Egypt. I am the...

Parashat Haazinu (Deuteronomy 32:1-52) finds Moses calling on heaven and earth to witness his words. Moses begins by thanking the Almighty and describes the special care afforded the people of Israel. To his disappointment, the people have consistently...

Maqam Bayat. Every Shabbat is associated with a musical figure, a maqam, Arabic cognate of maqom signifying “place.” This is the last day of my life, Moshe Rabbeinu said, and he went and spoke these words to all Israel: “I’m not going out,...

This week, we read from Parshah Nitzavim, the same parshah we read on Yom Kippur morning. We are near the end of the book of Deuteronomy, as well as the death of Moshe rabbeinu, Moses our teacher. Even though the end of the Torah is near, Moses continues...

Each year, as we reread the powerful words of the Book of Deuteronomy in our synagogues, I can’t help but notice how germane its wise teachings are to the season in which we find ourselves: the Days of Awe, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, which we will...

Justice is elusive. We learn this from this week’s Torah portion,  the famous tzedek tzedek — justice reiterated and pursued (Deuteronomy 16:20) — a reminder that justice, true justice, transformative justice, necessary justice, requires us to...