Shemot, one of the most well-known and beloved passages of Torah, is this week’s Torah portion. Shemot begins the saga of our people that has become a foundational text for generations of people of faith. These words carry a universal message about...

This coming Shabbat in communities the world over, the public reading of the Sefer Bereshit (the Book of Genesis) will be drawn to a close as we chant, study and quest to find existential meaning in the words of Parashat Vayechi — the final few chapters...

I have a tradition every Friday afternoon. It doesn’t matter where I am or where my mother is. I receive my Shabbat blessing. I have been in the car or in the grocery store, answering, “Amen, Shabbat shalom, I love you.”  Receiving this blessing...

Retweeted over the past week have been the words of Rabbi David Wolpe: “The Shamash is the candle that lights the others. Be a Shamash.” Important words for this season as we are reminded of the power of light but more specifically the power of...

Sometimes I feel as if I am missing something in perspective in the radical now, the holy present that occupies my attention. The present is challenging enough to require my full attention, to be here, now. I don’t have the koyech (strength) to be anywhere...

I am a sports fan. An unashamed, unabashed sports fan. To be sure, I want to see a better world, one that is fairer and more just, one in which there is respect for all persons and living things, for the planet, its populations and its ecosystems, and...

Vayetze is the sixth out of 12 portions in the Book of Genesis. It opens after the dramatic episode in which Jacob tricks his father,  Isaac, and robs his brother Esau of the birthright and blessing belonging to the eldest child. Fearing for his life,...

These are the generations of Isaac.Isaac entreats God, and God is entreated. Same verb, different structure. It is one of the words we encounter in Torah that is considered prayer.The same root, transitive and reflexive. Isaac entreats God, and God is...

As I age, I find myself reading the Torah through an entirely different set of lenses. I find the people whose stories are told in the text to be much more human and their experiences much more universal. That is certainly the case with this week’s...

America has had a choice to make about its future. We have been casting our votes, and the results are in, and they are painful. No, I don’t mean the presidential election that took place Nov. 8 with all of the scapegoating, threats, anger and fear...

Over this past holiday season, I found myself reflecting on the image of an apple and how it can be used as a tool for reflection, growth and learning. Each piece of the fruit reveals a different aspect of how we can grow in this coming year: the skin,...

The story of Noah demands that we consider the possibility that our behavior can have a major impact on how the world treats us. Human beings were corrupt and violent, and as if the heart of the world was crying volumes of pain, it rained continuously...