Parshat Yitro contains the first instance of the Ten Commandments in the Torah, a topic about which so much can be said. The Ten Commandments are a blueprint, a first step for the Israelites toward becoming a lawful society. There are infinite interpretations...

  More than once over the past few weeks people have shared with me their feelings of despair as the news impacting our Jewish communities, our nation and the world makes its way into our awareness. How are we to integrate the knowledge that...

One of my favorite programs on television is found on PBS, and it is called “Finding Your Roots.” An overview of the series reads as follows: Educator Henry Louis Gates Jr. has hosted several PBS series that examine U.S. history. In “Finding...

“Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?” The line from Simon and Garfunkel’s “Mrs. Robinson” became one of the most famous lyrics of the 1960s. Years later, Paul Simon shared something unexpected: Joe DiMaggio himself had written to him, genuinely...

Might you have some conflict in your life? Big or small, might you be seeking a balanced way to manage conflict? You might you want to take the principles as expressed in your wisdom tradition and integrate that wisdom deeper, body wisdom even –...

New York City’s new mayor began his term with a sweeping executive order that wiped the slate clean of all mayoral directives issued during the final 15 months of the prior administration. On paper, the order looked procedural. In practice, it carried...

We slide into Avdut-servitude in just a few verses, after Joseph dies, and his brothers, and all that generation. The land became filled with us, then a new king arose over Egypt who knew not Joseph (Exodus 1:8). Is that the beginning of servitude? Now...

From the time I was 5 through my teenage years, I grew up as an American Jew in Melbourne, Australia, returning to the United States twice a year to visit my father. Melbourne is where my Jewish identity was formed and where the rhythms of Jewish life...

Imagine you are Yaakov. You spent 20 years away from your parents, due to the threat of your brother. And then you lost your son, the oldest of your beloved wife Rachel. Your other sons told you he was attacked by an animal and killed, and you have no...

(JTA) — When a Jewish girl in 12th grade stands up to discuss Israeli politics, she speaks with the same confidence level as a boy in 7th grade. What’s more, two-thirds of boys in Jewish day schools feel confident discussing Israeli politics...

The Jewish world is still in mourning. I woke up Sunday to the horrific news. My wife, Shiffy, was on the phone with her sister in Sydney. Her son-in-law and grandchildren were at the public menorah celebration on Bondi Beach, and thank G‑d, they were...

When I was 3 years old, I would dress up and pretend to be different people. And I had two main alter egos. One was John Lennon. I had these little round framed glasses, and I would stand with my guitar made of a shoebox and rubber bands, and I would...