My recent posts...Sermon from Shabbat VVa'eira 5781 On January 12, 2021, The New York Times published this poem by Matt Mason, the state poet of Nebraska: The Start t probably started in a whisper, a murmur, a low tone hardly caught by the papers,...

My recent posts...After the fire, a soft murmuring sound tornado whips through an area, devastating homes and trees. A hurricane brings gales and torrents of water that wreak havoc. A wildfire turns verdant swaths to ash. Minutes, hours, a sunrise...

Our tradition also encourages us to pray from the heart, in our own words, whenever we wish, even during the codified services.

My recent posts...No, not of isolation, but of the days until we stand again at Sinai to receive the bounty of Torah. (versions for ארץ and חו״ל. Feel free to share, copy, print…count!)

My recent posts...Spell, Psalm and Solace Finally, considering that each of the three Torah blessings has merit, the anonymous editor closes the discussion with “Therefore, let us recite them all”! We no longer need to wonder how Birkat Hamazon got so long: “Oh,...

My recent posts...Why read Talmud? Learning it thoroughly can be a life’s work in which it would be rare to truly learn two sides of a leaf of free-flowing, often arcane, heavy-on-the-(shorthand)-Aramaic and Hebrew that records discussion among sages who lived over a...

My recent posts...Imagine you get this prescription: One daf q.d. for seven-and-a-half years. You might ask: What is it? Why should I take it? Is it covered? When should I take it? Any contraindications with my current meds? A daf a day is known as “Daf Yomi,” and it...

My recent posts...Most of us never hear the end of the Torah: the last two chapters of Devarim / Deuteronomy are read only on Simchat Torah morning. I’ve been in shul every Simchat Torah morning for as long as I can remember. Yet I was surprised this year by the three...

My recent posts...Enough “I think any Jewish people that vote for a Democrat, I think it shows either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty.” President Donald Trump on Tuesday. On Wednesday: “I think if you vote for a Democrat, you are very, very disloyal to...

My recent posts...Tu b’Av Destruction, lamentation and exile — the major (in minor mode) motifs of Tish’a b’Av, the ninth day of the month of Av. Both of the ancient Holy Temples were destroyed on that day, and many other calamities in Jewish history are pegged to 9...

My recent posts...Second Chances The Jewish Day of Second Chances is a Torah-mandated opportunity. If you were unable to observe the Pesach sacrifice at the original time, say because you were traveling or were ritually impure, you are expected to participate in the...

My recent posts...Seething In this week’s Torah reading, God says to the Israelites: “No boiling a baby goat in its mother’s milk.” Simple enough, no? Yet look where that seemingly simple statement has led us: (at least) two sets of dishes for daily use, two sets of...