While standing at the start, the journey ahead always seems uncertain. Here we are at the beginning of 2023. A long, full, busy year awaits. We pray it will be a year of health and happiness, fulfillment and life. We pray that there will be joy and laughter, learning and...
The Talmud teaches that we should place our Hanukkah menorah ‘at the entrance to one’s house on the outside’ so that passersby can see it. If one lives upstairs, they place it ‘in the window adjacent to the public domain.’ The idea is that we should publicize the miracle. This...
November 29 is one of the more iconic dates in Israeli history, though rarely mentioned outside of the land of Israel. It was on this date in 1947 that the United Nations voted to adopt a formal partition plan for what would become the modern state of Israel. What had...
I spent this past weekend learning about the Civil Rights movement with an incredible group of KI members, most of them teens. We visited places that were – and still are – at the heart of the battle for equality in our country: Montgomery, Birmingham, Selma, and Atlanta. We stood...
In the coming days, millions of Americans will enter the voting booth. Contests of great consequence will finally come to a head, including those that matter significantly to Pennsylvania residents. Following untold dollars in campaign ads, social media drives, printed signs and slogans, new leaders will be named to local,...
I believe the creation story. This is not to say that I believe it teaches us how our world came to be. Indeed, I subscribe to the theory of evolution and the many truths offered by archeology, anthropology, and astronomy. Such fields have confirmed how the cosmos, plant life, animal...
What a joy it was to spend these high holy days together. I felt so welcomed by our incredible community. The music was fantastic. The crowds were terrific. Like you, I left feeling ready for the year ahead. Thank you so much for making me and my family feel so...
There is a Native American story regarding two wolves. One wolf embodies greed, selfishness, ego, revenge, and aggression. The other wolf embodies justice, compassion, patience, and kindness. As the story goes, both wolves live within us. Every day the wolves battle each other. Every day one is growing in strength...
For thousands of years our people have welcomed the new year with prayer and song. We have gathered in synagogues the world over as the melodies and notes of this sacred season wash over us. In times of strife, in times of war, in times of peace and contentment, Jews...
At the start of week’s Torah portion, Shoftim, we learn a lesson that is at the heart of the Jewish experience. I also believe it is as relevant and important as ever. As the portion opens, we read that, in every generation, we should ‘appoint magistrates and officials for your...
