• Judaism as a national experience

    I dedicate these words of Torah to the memory of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim who were killed for being Jews here in our own city of Washington.  We mourn for them and pray for their families and all our people.  -Rabbi Shafner We are in the midst of counting the Omer, a 49-day…

  • Lag B’Omer, Politics and Jewish Unity

    This week we celebrate Lag B’Omer, the 33rd day of the Omer. Our tradition is that on the 33rd day, the plague that resulted in the death of Rabbi Akiva’s 24,000 students ceased. The Talmud tells us that the students of Rabbi Akiva all died between the holidays of Passover and Shavuot, “because they did not treat…

  • Yom HaZikaron

    This period of Sefirat HaOmer is a time of counting. We count 50 days from Passover to Shavuot. Counting is a process of looking forward, of moving toward. Today is Yom HaAtzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day, which follows Israel’s Memorial Day commemorating those who have died defending the country and Am Yisrael.    On this Yom HaZikaron and Yom…

  • Yom Hashoah and the Two Sons of Aaron: The Fire, The Silence, and the Cry

    Tonight at Kesher Israel, we will commemorate the Holocaust, whose cruelty was far beyond comprehension. We Americans of the 21st century live relatively secure and prosperous lives. It is hard to fathom that less than 100 years ago, there was nothing cheaper than Jewish blood—that more than one out of every three Jews was murdered,…

  • Counting on Balance

    Liberals and conservatives disagree about so much in our polarized society, yet there is one thing the extremists on both sides seem to agree on, and that is hatred of Jews and Israel. Who could have imagined that we would see the day when, in a blink of an eye following October 7th, progressive students…

  • 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…