Rabbi Eliyahu Safran of the Orthodox Union refers to the number seven as the perfect number. “Seven is completeness and wholesomeness,” he says. There are numerous examples in Judaism of the significance of that seven, beginning with Shabbat, the...

What inspires you? How are you empowered? The Torah portion Beshalach teaches us about the importance of faith, patience and action. We read about the importance of keeping our word and the importance of singing and dancing. There are moments we find...

1. In Israel, Tu B’Shevat is like Earth Day, raising awareness about the ecology. 2. Part of the environmental awareness is to plant a tree or start an herb garden. 3. Planting trees in Israel is especially important right now; many were lost...

This weekend is a good time to begin preparing for your Passover seder. With three months to go, you can delay boiling eggs and stocking up on horseradish. But it’s an ideal time to plant parsley indoors. The 90-day window should be just about right...

Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach (z”l), my teacher and cousin, once said that it is quite easy to tell which are the most profound Jewish holidays. They are, he suggested, the ones that are observed by the smallest number of individuals.  His statement...

Moses relates the commandments the Israelites must fulfill on the fateful eve of Passover in Egypt in our parsha this week, Bo. Can you imagine their fear and trepidation? This includes the consumption of the paschal lamb. Moses is then told to give...

Before Exodus 2:24-25 (G*d heard their cry. . .and G*d saw"), there is little mention of G*d in the first few chapters of the Book of Exodus. G*d was not personally involved (hashgacha pratit in Hebrew) with Israel, as it were, but allowed events...

Before Exodus 2:24-25 (G-d heard their cry. . .and G-d saw"), there is little mention of G-d in the first few chapters of the Book of Exodus. G-d was not personally involved (hashgacha pratit in Hebrew) with Israel, as it were, but allowed events to...

Eight years ago, when Rebecca “Becca” Berg went on a Birthright trip to Israel, her group met with volunteers from Gift of Life. The nonprofit runs a bone marrow and blood stem cell registry that helps facilitate transplants for children and adults...

Each year, as we prepare to read the final Torah portion in the book of Genesis, Parashat Vayechi, I am struck again by the opening verse of the portion: “And Jacob lived 17 years in the land of Egypt so that the total span of Jacob’s lifetime...

Are Jews strong or weak, powerful or oppressed? The answer, of course, is, yes. Israel, the Jewish state, is a nuclear power and, although small, has the strongest military in the Middle East.  And in so many ways, Jews are a strong, proud presence...

While some St. Louis Jews closed out Hanukkah 2021 at home, some ventured out and celebrated by wielding axes to honor Hanukkah and our Macabee ancestors. Last week, we told you how the Tanach, offers numerous references to axes, both as weapons or...