If peace is the absence of conflict, then there are at least two paths to peace. In a conflict of winners and losers, violence and dominance is a path to peace. One “side” overcomes the other, and imposes terms. The winner enjoys peace, the loser...
Sage advice gives quiet strength in the midst of turmoil. Scholars of Torah are sometimes called sages. I might call the author Parker Palmer a sage. Palmer comes from the Quaker tradition — which like our own is committed to an abstract, indivisible...
Who among us hasn’t emerged from narrow straits? Is there anyone who hasn’t come through a fraught situation, maybe bruised but not beaten; blemished but not broken? Our Torah portion this week, Chukat, is famous for its enigmatic law of the Red Heifer....
BY ELLIE GROSSMAN, SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH LIGHT
• Published June 21, 2012
Planning a bar or bat mitzvah can be stressful, so imagine what it’s like to coordinate a double (or triple!) simcha where more than one tween shares not only a Torah portion but the limelight as well. Actually, when it comes to hosting a special b’nai...
Every so often, the people in the Torah pray. Maybe not as often as we might expect from such a holy text, but they pray, and sometimes with breathtaking intensity. Patriarchs and Matriarchs, lowly servants, great kings and humble shepherds, prophets...
NEW YORK -- It was an ancient sentence -- a fragment, really -- that changed everything for Alexis Kashar. An attorney specializing in special education and disability rights, she has successfully argued high-profile litigations, including one against...
Congregation B’nai Amoona offers a variety of adult education courses throughout the week on an ongoing basis. Classes include: • Sunday Talmud Class — from 10:15 to 11:30 a.m. in the Hieken Conference Room, led by Rabbis Barry Friedman and Josef...
In this week’s Torah portion, Shelach, the Jewish people have completed the short trek from Mount Sinai to the Land of Israel. God tells them to send the heads of each tribe as spies to spy out the Land of Israel. After 40 days the spies return. Ten...
I was pleased to learn that part of the current installment of Can We Talk? is centered on the mental health needs of our Jewish community and how we can best address them. As a psychologist in private practice, I sense a professional calling and feel...
Naso is the longest portion in the weekly readings of Torah with 176 verses. After detailing the priestly purpose in the book of Leviticus, we come to the Book of Numbers and guess what? The first two portions begin with a census. Naso begins with an...
As the fourth book of the Torah opens, God orders Moses and Aaron to take a census of the people, specifically those males who are of the age of conscription. The Israelites still have many challenges to face, as they continue their journey from Mount...
Torah MiTzion Kollel and Bais Abraham are holding a farewell party for the family of Gilat and Assi Gastfraind, who have served as Israeli emissaries (shlichim) in St. Louis since July 2009. The event will be held from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, May...
