By Rabbi Tracy Nathan
• Published January 20, 2016
There are moments in life that we all face, when we stand at the crossroads, and each path seems no less frightening or full of dread than the other. This is where our ancestors stand in this week’s Torah portion, Parashat B’shalach, as they face...
By Rabbi Andrea Goldstein
• Published January 13, 2016
On Jan. 14, 1963, speaking at the National Conference on Religion and Race, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel said: “At the first conference on religion and race, the main participants were Pharaoh and Moses. Moses’ words were: ‘Thus says the Lord, the...
By Rabbi Josef A. Davidson
• Published January 6, 2016
Whenever we encounter someone new with whom we would like to exchange names, inevitably the second question answered after, “What is your name?” is, “What do you do?” The power to name other creatures, objects and concepts was given to human beings,...
By Rabbi Michael Alper
• Published December 30, 2015
This past week, I forgot my name. I was trying to log on to one of the many different sites I use — Facebook, Amazon, my son’s school, my work email — and I couldn’t remember which screen name I used for which. Was I Michael or MikeyAlper?...
By Rabbi Brad Horwitz
• Published December 16, 2015
This week, we come to the end of the Joseph saga. Joseph reconciles with his brothers, and the whole family reunites after years of separation and then settles peacefully in the land of Goshen, in Egypt. The details of this reunification are fascinating...
By Rabbi James Stone Goodman
• Published December 3, 2015
And a certain man found him [Joseph], and, behold, he was blundering about in the field. And the man asked him, saying: What do you seek? Gen.37:15 Rashi: this is the angel Gabriel. Ibn Ezra: a passerby. Ramban: the Holy One sent an unknowing guide. Knock-knock.Who’s...
The American tradition of gathering with family and friends to share a meal and give thanks dates to 1621, when the Plymouth colonists and Native Americans shared a feast in honor of the successful harvest. In 1789, President George Washington issued...
By Rabbi Lane Steinger
• Published November 18, 2015
As our Torah Portion this week opens, we find Jacob on the road. Last week we learned that he either is fleeing from his furious twin brother Esau (see Genesis 27:41-45) or is off to find an acceptable wife (see Genesis 27:45-28:5)- or both. And so now...
By Rabbi Brigitte Rosenberg
• Published November 11, 2015
In this week’s parashah, Toldot, we read about Jacob and Esau, the twin boys of Isaac and Rebekah. Their story is one of differing personalities, sibling rivalry and struggle throughout their lives. We read, “The boys grew up, and Esau became...
“And Abraham came to mourn Sarah and to weep for her …” (Genesis 23:2). This week’s Torah portion opens with this most poignant of images, one played out again and again in all of our lives, as a human being mourns the death of a beloved life...
By Rabbi Tracy Nathan
• Published October 28, 2015
In Parashat Vayera, we encounter a disturbing moment in the life of our first matriarch and patriarch: the story of Abraham and Sarah’s casting out of Hagar and Ishmael into the desert with just a bit of bread and water. Rather than hide this shameful...
When I ask my Jewish congregants and friends what matters most to them about their Judaism, the responses frequently boil down to one word: tradition. I am Jewish because it feels familiar, because it’s what my grandparents would have wanted, because...
