“Now Aaron’s sons Nadav and Avihu each took his fire pan, put fire in it, laid incense on it, and offered before God alien fire, which had not been enjoined upon them. And fire issued forth from God and consumed them. Thus, they died at the instance...

Shalom Chaverim! This year, we have something of an anomaly on the Jewish calendar. In most years, the Torah portions of Vayakhel and Pekudei are read in tandem with one another; meaning that we have a double selection chanted in our Synagogues...

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...

The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) awarded honorary doctorates to 36 rabbis at an online convocation ceremony June 6. Among those whose achievements were honored was Rabbi Carnie Shalom Rose, the Rabbi Bernard Lipnick Senior Rabbinic Chair at Congregation...

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...

Devarim - Chapter 26: 1: When you enter the land that the Lord your God is giving you as a heritage, and you possess it and settle in it, 2: You shall take some of every first fruit of the soil, which you harvest from the land that the Lord your God...

This coming Shabbat, Jews the world over will once again initiate the public reading of the fourth of the Five Books of Moses known as Sefer Bamidbar (or more accurately BeMidbar), the Book of Numbers. For me, this Torah portion holds special significance...

One of the best known and most beloved sections of the Passover Haggadah includes the words: “In every generation a person must see her/himself as emerging from the servitude of Egypt.”  This well-worn quote serves as a rhetorical device reminding...

“The act of revelation is a mystery, while the record of revelation is a literary fact, phrased in the language of [the hu]man.”— Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, God In Search Of ManAs a Rabbi, I never cease to be amazed by the questions posed by...