The portion begins, Vayechi, Jacob was living, really living now, even in Egypt he is meta-alive. We want to believe as he is drawing up his legs to die that real life, full life, can happen to him anywhere, any time, any conditions. He lived in the land...

Religion, by its very nature, is something that cannot be explained. While some are captivated by it, others see religion as nothing but a product of humanity’s extensive curiosity—a way of answering questions that are otherwise unanswerable. One...

I was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia on August 13, 1999. For two and a half years I received weekly chemotherapy treatments at Egleston Hospital in Atlanta. Armies of chemicals marched through my body, each with direct orders from doctors and...

We are coming to a close in the epic stories of Genesis, highlighting incredible family dynamics and how the children of Israel descend into Egypt. This week’s Torah portion begins mid-way through the Joseph odyssey with the Hebrew word Miketz. Onkelos...

One who acts from love is greater than one who acts from fear A few years ago, I received a Hanukkah card from CLAL (The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership), but this was not your “typical” feel-good card, rather — as CLAL generally...

       Do you remember that time when you were little and your brother took your cereal bowl, the really cool one with Woody and Buzz Lightyear all over it? How about your first “date” when that really cute girl in your class came over to watch...

When I was growing up, one of my younger brothers and I shared a bedroom.  Only two years apart, our relationship was typically fraught with arguments, both verbal and physical. I recall tricking him, knocking him off the top of the bunk bed and him...

The sky is blue. Everyone learns that at a very young age. The sky is blue, the grass is green, and the clouds are white. When you draw your parents a picture to hang on the refrigerator, you scribble green squiggles on the bottom and blue ones on the...

With Thanksgiving and Hanukkah fast approaching, this time of year seems to get hectic for everyone. Parents are calling family members, making travel arrangements, going to the grocery store, pulling out that old recipe for the perfect dessert, going...

One of the challenges that is facing the Jewish community today is reaching out to the unaffiliated and the disaffiliated — the people within the Jewish community who are counted but cannot as yet be counted upon as resources or as beneficiaries of...

This week’s Torah portion includes the death of both Sarah and Abraham, a matriarch and patriarch. In this spirit, I would like to reach out to all of those who have recently lost someone, and to anyone who is currently observing a yahrzeit.I would...

No Torah section may be more intellectually puzzling, more emotionally disturbing, and more polarizing then Genesis 22, known as “Akeidat Yitzchak,” “The Binding of Isaac.” For a deep and lively spiritual and intellectual encounter with friends...