Many years ago when I was a hospital chaplain providing pastoral care to Jewish patients and residents of all of the local hospitals and nursing homes in the Denver area, I met a young woman in a locked psychiatric unit who had attempted suicide.  I...

A favorite Jewish folktale of mine tells of a group of monks at a monastery who over time lost sight of their own behaviors and treated each other with disrespect. Once known for living in an atmosphere of good will and human decency, the monks increasingly...

Crises in faith — we all have them at one time or another. Each of us can become overwhelmed by life and what it often brings to us when we have other plans. These crises can come from many different sources — the loss of a job, the death of a loved...

Though it would be ideal if all Jews could be once again residing in Eretz Yisra'el, that is not the case.  Jews live on every inhabitable continent in the world.  Jews have acculturated to life in galut (Diaspora) and the destruction of Temple, the...

My Shabbat morning Torah study has become a highlight of my week at Temple Emanuel. We meet for study and discussion of the weekly Torah portion, but the fun of our learning lies in the loose, freewheeling nature of our discussions.This year, we have...

Of all of the emotions with which human beings have been equipped, the one which is the most discomfiting and often the most destructive is anger. Though this emotion - as all other human emotions - can be controlled and can actually be made to work...