• Reflections on Kesher Israel

    A recent visitor in shul, looking slightly bemused, asked me, “Is Kesher an international organization?” I answered, “Yes and no.” We are a shul, but additionally we have “members” all over the world, many of whom have lived here and some who just attend a few times a year. All of these thousands of Kesherites…

  • Kohanim, Levites, and the Call to Serve

    In the first of this week’s parshiot, Matot, the Torah writes: “God spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Avenge the Israelite people against the Midianites; then you shall be gathered to your kin.’ Moses, in turn, told the army, ‘Let troops be picked out from among you for a campaign, and let them fall upon Midian to…

  • From Vengeance to Sensitivity

    In this week’s Torah  portion, Matos-Masey, God tells Moshe to attack Midyan in order to avenge their attempt to defeat the Jewish people.  But Moshe does not do it himself, nor does he appoint anyone directly, instead he makes a general call out to the Jewish people telling them to appoint soldiers and take care…

  • The Journey That Shaped a Nation

    In the second of this week’s Torah portions, Masei, the Torah writes, “These were the travels of the Israelites who came out of the land of Egypt, according to their hosts, by the hand of Moses and Aaron.  Moses wrote down the starting points of their various marches according to their travels, as directed by…

  • Vows, Leadership, and the Road to the Land

    In this week’s Parsha, Matos-Masei, the Jewish people stand on the bank of the Jordan river.  They have engaged in battle with the nations on the eastern side of that river, have survived the spiritual onslaught of the Moabites in last week’s parsha, and now they are poised to enter the land.   In these…

  • Nostalgia and the Value of Today

    This week’s second torah portion opens with Moshe reviewing all of the 42 stops that the Jewish people made in the desert over their 40 year trek from Egypt to Israel.  We know where they have been, why recount them?  Remembering the past is a familiar feeling to us.  It can come with regret or…

  • The Intersection of War, Community, and Personal Needs

    In the second of this week’s two Torah portions, Ma’asey, the Jewish people stand on the banks of the Jordan River poised to enter the Land of Israel.  They are commanded to make war with the people they will encounter there and to, “Drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, destroy…