Torah doesn’t give a reason for counting “omer” for the seven weeks between Pesach (second day) and Shavuot. We’re told to count, so we count!

My recent posts...he Israelites, walking to their Promised Land, are attacked by Amalek, who target the weak and elderly, the stragglers. Is Amalek demoralizing the Israelites by picking off the vulnerable? Perhaps shaming them for not protecting...

My recent posts...ount Sinai is aswirl with smoke. In the guise of fire, Adonai descends from above. Smoke rises. The earth trembles. The blare of shofar resounds and rebounds. Moshe speaks, Adonai responds in thunder. Moshe addresses the...

My recent posts...hirat Hayam, the song at the sea, is a magnificent biblical ode to God's power in freeing the Israelites from Egyptian bondage. It is the centerpiece of this week's Torah reading. In the spirit of song, most of the service this...

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...