In this week’s parsha, Nasso, the counting of the Jewish people which began in the previous parsha, is completed. Rash”i (Numbers 1:1) comments: “Because the people are dear to God, God counts them often.  When they went forth from Egypt God counted them, when many of them fell in consequence of their having worshiped the golden…

Positive things have happened over the past two years.  Many new people have moved into our community- mostly young but some older, and some who left town during the pandemic for other cities have moved back, realizing they could not find in the bigness of Jewish life in New York what they had in the…

In this week’s Parsha the Torah describes the Sotah, the unfaithful wife and the priestly ceremony that she could voluntarily undergo to be exonerated if she were innocent.  This is followed by the Nazir, the nazarite who electively enters an ascetic state forbidding wine upon himself, as well as refraining from cutting his hair and…

A few days ago, on Shavuot night at Kesher Israel, over 100 people stayed up all night learning Torah and eating great dairy desserts.   The night began with an innovative debate between two of our longtime members, both immensely accomplished individual thinkers.   The debate was over Korach, and consisted of the prosecution and…