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The Sefirah
Time is central to many mitzvot and elements of Jewish life. We pray at specific times of day, the holidays are called moadim which means “times”, and seasons of year even have specific textures relating to their holidays, such as freedom, introspection, joy, etc. When we think about what time is though, we are at…
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Kedoshim 2022
This past week one of our older congregants, Michael Gelfand, passed away. He and his wife Edith are long time members of our shul, generous supporters, and are among those, over the years, who have worked very hard as leaders to make Kesher Israel the welcoming, bustling, thoughtful, community that it is. Michael was buried…
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Kedoshim 2022
In this week’s Parsha, Kedoshim, the Torah writes, “Do not go about as a talebearer among your people, and do not stand idly by the blood of your fellow, I am God.” The Talmud (Sanhedrin 73a) states: “From where is it derived that one who sees another drowning in a river, or being dragged away…
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Passover 2022
Pesach, which falls this Friday night, commemorates the most important moment in Jewish history. We have no commandment to remember Sinai, or the day we entered Israel, but we have many which commemorate the Exodus from Egypt because this moment of leaving Egypt and becoming a nation contextualizes who we are as Jews more than…
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Shabbat Hagadol 2022: Prayer and Diversity
I am in Israel this week to perform a wedding and, due to jet lag, I had the opportunity to walk very early this morning to Meah Shearim, a very religious neighborhood in Jerusalem, to pray. Around sunrise I went to the mikvah there and davened Shacharit at one of my favorite places to pray,…
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Shabbat HaChodesh 2022
This Shabbat has a special name, Shabbat HaChodesh, on which we read a maftir from Parshat Bo which contains the first commandment given to the Jewish people as a nation just before they leave Egypt: “Hachodesh hazeh lachem,” “This month (of Nisan) shall be to you the first of months.” The first Rashi on the…
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Lessons from Ezekiel and the Israeli Redemption
The haftorah of Parshat Parah this week tells us that the exile of the Jewish people is a desecration of God’s name, a Chilul Hashem: “I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries, I punished them in accordance with their ways and their deeds. But when they came they caused…
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Purim 2022
This week we celebrate the holiday of Purim. The Torah has messages for every time and generation. There are many lessons we can learn from Purim for our lives today. On a theological level we can learn about the invisible hand of Providence guiding the events of history, which is perhaps why the megillah, which…
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Shabbat Zachor: Remembering Amalek’s Challenge
This week is “Shabbat Zachor,” the “Shabbat of Remembering”. Since it is just before Purim and on Purim we were threatened by Haman who was a direct descendant of Amalek, we fulfill the biblical commandment this Shabbat to remember what Amalek did to us. We do this by reading a portion from Divarim about…
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Unity Through Equal Contribution and Respect for All Jews
This week is Shabbat Shekalim, which commemorates the giving of the half shekel to the Tabernacle in the desert. There were two kinds of gifts to the Tabernacle -any amount and any material one wanted to give, from the goodness of their heart, -and the half shekel which everyone had to give. The poor…
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Navigating the Slippery Slope
In this week’s Torah portion, Ki Tisa, the Jewish people make and worship the golden calf after which Moshe comes down the mountain and breaks the tablets. This parsha is bookended by God giving the instructions for making the Tabernacle to Moshe and Moshe telling the Jewish people how to build it. Rash”i reads…
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The True Fulfillment of Terumah
This week’s Torah portion, Terumah, begins: “Speak to the children of Israel, and they should take terumah (gifts/donation) for me, from every person who’s heart gives, shall you take my terumah.” The Torah then proceeds to list the types of gifts that the jewish people should give for the building of the Tabernacle, such…
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Cultivating Awareness and Holiness Through Jewish Law
This week’s Torah portion, Mishpatim, is filled with the laws. This parsha comes right after the giving of the Torah because law is so central to Jewish life. It is one of Orhtodox Judaism’s hallmarks and great strengths that halacha, Jewish law, is at the pulsating center of individual and communal life-but it is…
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Don’t Give Up the Shul: Synagogues as creative engaging institutions
Despite new alternatives to the synagogue model, I believe no other Jewish institution can equally build strong, encompassing, spiritual communities. The following are some guidelines, based on my work at Bais Abraham (Bais Abe) in St. Louis, for utilizing creativity and open-mindedness in generating more vibrant and engaging synagogue communities. Spiritual Tools It takes a…
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Is unity a Good?
“Politics has stopped being about how to govern a shared country and is more about a naked, “Lord of the Flies”-style struggle for power.” -Henry Olsen, The Washington Post, 1/1/2021 This week’s Torah portion, Noach, describes a society which works well, seems unified, and can build great towers, but fails because it is…
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Shabbat HaGadol (Shabbat before Passover)
This Shabbat, the Shabbat before Pesach, is called Shabat HaGodol, the “Big Shabbat”. Four days before the Seder, the 10th of Nisan, the Torah commands that one must choose a lamb for the Passover offering and tie it up in preparation for the Seder. The commentaries explain that the year the Jewish people left Egypt…