Long ago, there was a tradition that the community rabbi sermonized only a couple of times a year. Shabbat Hagadol, the one immediately preceding Pesach, was one occasion. Some say the rabbi would give a BIG — GADOL — sermon, spelling out the laws of preparing for and keeping Pesach. Others say NO WAY, way too much information way too late in the process. A month ago, right after Purim, maybe.

As I heard the word exit my mouth, I thought, “Oops! Bad choice…”

My recent posts...

You may be aware that I compose melodies for liturgy, including a couple (Ashrei and Harofei/The Healer) that are commonly used in our services. I’ve also been writing a number of original songs, some inspired by the political upheaval that coincided with the COVID lockdown and others by … life.

My recent posts...Maybe the Smaller Things... On November 1, 2005, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution designating January 27 as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The UN urges every member state to honor the six million Jewish victims of...

My recent posts...I was honored to offer remarks at the Atlantic City Civil Rights Garden this morning. The Struggle Friends, The last time we were here, it was much much colder. And I’m sure you remember that I cited this ancient rabbinic saying: לֹא עָלֶיךָ...

If loud noises keep away evil spirits, demons, and the like, why do we not make incessant clamor all the time?

My response to Representative Jeff Van Drew’s attack on the Ken Burns Holocaust documentary

Family gatherings of all sorts. Kids on vacation. Slow time at work. Colleagues, friends, traveling. For some, this time of year is fraught with challenge.

On November 21, 2022, his 80th birthday, President Joe Biden pardoned two turkeys, Chocolate and Chip, otherwise destined for someone’s Thanksgiving table. Fox News posted that “the National Turkey Federation has donated turkeys to the president ahead of Thanksgiving since 1947 under President Harry Truman. President John F. Kennedy is believed to be the first president to spare the turkey, and President George H. W. Bush was the first to formalize the ‘pardon’ tradition.”

Veterans in times of conflict or in relative peacetime, whether in combat or in support — all of them deserve better. Veterans put their lives on hold and on the line to preserve what makes our country worth protecting.

In this week’s JTS Torah On Line, Grace Gleason, a Jewish Theological Seminary rabbinical student, writes that the fragility of the sukkah can teach us “to embrace impermanence. Our tradition tells us: there is no use in denial, and there is no use in comforting distraction.”