Beginning with the month of Elul, we are into the Days of Awe ascent. In the synagogue we read the messages of consolation from the prophet Isaiah, leaving the descent of the three weeks of sadness drawn now towards the heights of awe. Where we have...

What do you say to someone when all their dreams are about to be realized? This is the role that Moses faces as the people prepare to enter the land of Israel.  In this week’s Torah portion, Moses instructs the Israelites:  “Take care lest you...

A few weeks back, my wife and I celebrated our 24th wedding anniversary. Along with a profound sense of gratitude for the decades of steadfast partnership, our Yom Nissuin (wedding anniversary) was a time to reflect back on the many changes we have undergone,...

I want to tell you a strange story about oaths and a king eating a live rabbit. Nebuchadnezzar was the king of Babylonia from about 605-562 BCE. He controlled the land of Israel and installed Zedekiah as king of Judah. One day, according to a Talmudic...

If you have been following the news lately, you know that the 2020 U.S. Census has garnered its share of recent headlines. If you’ve been paying attention to our Torah lections for the past couple of months, you’re also aware that more than one census...

At the beginning of my career, I encountered a very religious, Hasidic woman in one of the hospitals associated with the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., in which I provided pastoral care to Jewish patients from the world over. She had come to the Mayo...

This week’s portion opens onto the mystery mitzvah of the Torah: the red heifer, the little red cow, parah adumah. We have a category of Torah mystery mitzvahs called chukkot — the reasons remain undeciphered. I’m exhausted by the reasons given...

In this week’s parashah, we meet Korach, for whom this parashah is named. He is Moses’ and Aaron’s first cousin and is known as a rebel, as he amassed 250 Israelites to join him in challenging the authority of Moses and Aaron.  Korach says to Moses...

This week’s Torah portion, Shelakh Lekha (Numbers 13:1-15:41), strings together several episodes. The most famous of these is the story of the Twelve Spies. On God’s command, Moses appoints 12 spies to gather information about the land of Canaan...

Once upon a time, there was a young boy who was always looking forward to what was next. If he was home, he wished he was at school the next day. If he was at school, he wished he was  at home already. If he was eating dinner, he wished he was done....

It has been decades now since I first heard the late Rabbi Harold Schulweis speak to a rabbinical convention I attended. In this particular talk, Rabbi Schulweis taught that too often, parents viewed their children as “naches producers.” When parents...

This coming Shabbat, Jews the world over will once again initiate the public reading of the fourth of the Five Books of Moses known as Sefer Bamidbar (or more accurately BeMidbar), the Book of Numbers. For me, this Torah portion holds special significance...