When we enter the world of the Book of Numbers, Bamidbar, In the Wilderness, I harken back to the discomfort of my own camping experiences. There was always grumbling from me or my brother. Yet the wilderness is the place of revelation. True, its...

This Shabbat, we will read Parashat Emor from the Book of Leviticus. Like many of the other Parshiot in this Holy Sefer, Emor highlights the special responsibilities and obligations placed upon the Kohanim, the Priestly Class of Ancient Israel. One...

When Fran Zellinger was growing up, she watched TV on a black-and-white set and talked to friends using a dial phone. Now she’s a Zoom veteran. That’s why she’s enthusiastic about a new program called Jewish Senior Connection, which takes full advantage...

Congregation B’nai Amoona will honor Rebbetzin Paulie Rose during the “Recognizing the Rose Among Us” virtual gala event  at 7 p.m. Sunday, May 23. The cost for a virtual ticket is $72. Musicians Ben Nordstrom and Steve Neale will headline...

In Denver, I was based in the community’s nominally Jewish hospital and spent half of my time there delivering pastoral care to a wide variety of people and families.One of the areas in which I was called to specialize came as a result a need identified...

Spring is here and summer is fast approaching; with that, a longing and readiness to return to some degree of “regular” life. For many parents, that means making plans for summer camp and fortunately, St. Louis offers a multitude of options for...

The “Sarajevo Haggadah,” handwritten and illustrated in 14th century Spain, was probably part of the expulsion from Spain in 1492. The details of how and when it arrived in Sarajevo, now the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, are not known. But it...

Remember when we used to congregate together in our synagogues, at the Jewish Community Center, at restaurants, in movie theaters and in other such meeting places? Remember when people wearing masks were usually about to commit a crime rather than protect...

This week’s parshah, Kee Teesa, contains one of the ugliest transgressions in the long history of the Jewish people: Chet HaEgel, the sin of the forging and worshipping the Golden Calf.Quite honestly, if I had my druthers, and the chutzpah to do so,...

There is a psalm for every day of the week, known as Shir Shel Yom.  Wednesday’s is Psalm 94, and it tells us, “For the law shall return to righteousness, and all those of upright heart shall follow it.” Implicit is the reality that the...

Cantor Sharon Nathanson and friends will host a virtual concert as a prelude to the postponed live concert celebrating Nathanson’s more than 16 years with Congregation B’nai Amoona. The “Together in Song” complimentary virtual concert is open...

This week’s Torah reading describes the first seven of the 10 plagues that were intended to demonstrate how the power of the God of Israel surpasses that of Pharaoh and a host of lesser Egyptian gods and goddesses. At first, it appears that these...