I have one sister and three brothers. My brothers and I were fiercely protective of our sister, especially when she came of age to date. Her dates would have to run the gauntlet! During her high school years, I don’t believe that there was a single...

Jacob left from Be’er Sheva, went toward Haran, Genesis 28:10.You’re leaving the seventh well, bye bye Be’er Sheva, going toward or in the direction of — you don’t know where you are going, you know only that you must go. Go toward.You have...

D’var Torah — CHAYEI SARAHThe name of the portion is Chayei Sarah, the life of Sarah. Abraham comes to bury Sarah and to cry for her (Genesis 23:2). Something has separated them, Abraham comes to bury her and ends up paying everything. It seems as...

Rabbi and scholar Arthur Green writes about the Jewish artistry for words in his introduction to the Zohar. Based on an understanding of the Second Commandment (no graven images), Jewish creativity was channeled into words. While others were creating...

The Lord said to Abram, “Go forth from your native land and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation. And I will bless you. And I will make your name great, and you shall be a blessing. I will...

Every year, I struggle with the justice of the flood story. What was so bad about this society that the only option available to God was complete destruction, save Noah and his family? Isn’t there always hope for teshuvah, repentance, and realizing...

I love creating. Though I am no artist by any stretch of the imagination, I find deep satisfaction in making something new. The energy we tap into when we paint, draw, build, cook, bake  or make some other creative effort can help us push ourselves...

The intermediate Shabbat of Sukkot has provided our sages with opportunities to help us take stock of ourselves and to be aware of our surroundings as we celebrate the fall harvest. Liturgically, our sages inserted some important attitudes provided to...

Rabbi Mark Joel Mahler wrote, “On [his] first Shabbat in Jerusalem, I was at the  Kotel [Wall] with three other first-year Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion students when Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach walked up to us, wished each of us...

In the title story of Philip Roth’s “Goodbye Columbus,” a young man from Brooklyn’s lower middle-class has been invited to dinner at his girlfriend’s home in one of Long Island’s more posh neighborhoods. Her family has a huge home, and dinner...

“There was once a boy named Pierre, who only would say,’I don’t care!’ Read his story, my friend, for you’ll find at the end that a suitable moral lies there.” —from “Pierre,” by Maurice SendakMaurice Sendak’s famous children’s...

What is justice? What does it mean to be living in a just society? What would that look like? And how do we know when we are acting justly or when we fail to meet that loftiest of goals?From the very first word of this week’s Torah portion, Shoftim...