Four times the Torah instructs us to tell our children of the Exodus from Egypt. The Torah reads, “And you shall tell your child on that day...” The rabbis inferred from this repetition that there are four different kinds of children — the wise,...

The opening section of this week’s parashah, Acharei Mot, is especially familiar because it is also read publicly on Yom ha-Kippurim. The most memorable section is the “scapegoat” upon which Israel’s sins were transferred and sent out into the...

Are you pure?You were born pure. The traditional morning prayers contain the following blessing, which even in the Recon-structionist siddur “Kol Haneshamah” (Reconstructionists generally eschew supernaturalism), begins, “My God, the soul which...

There is something really comforting about tradition, about doing things that connect us to our personal and collective past.  For some of us, this means that every year, on certain holidays, we cook favorite family recipes that we have eaten since childhood. ...

This week’s Torah portion, Tzav, details elaborate instructions for the ritual of sacrifice and the description of the actual ordination of Aaron and his sons (These directions were given in Exodus, but now carried out). If one can make it through the...

Each year as springtime approaches, I recall with great affection sitting next to my mentor and friend, Rabbi Bernard Lipnick (z’’l), on the bimah of our shul. For it was on Shabbes mornings that our great teacher would provide me with his special...

Every October, there is one particular morning when our congregation’s Religious School telephone begins ringing off the hook at exactly 9 a.m. and doesn’t stop ringing all day long.  That’s the day, somewhat arbitrarily chosen, when families of...

Red lines ... lines in the sand. The roots of these expressions refer to bellicose dares testing the boldness of presumptive trespassers. Moreover, their usage suggests grave consequences should trespass occur.How ironic, then, that the longing of Man...