Parashat Va-Eira: Four Divine Promises of Redemption And The First Six Plagues. Holocaust Remembrance Shabbat. The Torah portion of Va-eira “And I Appeared (to Avraham)” is the first of four Sidrot/portions depicting G-d’s most active and aggressive intervention in the lives of the Jewish people, encompassing the Ten Plagues, the...
The legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. calls us to action. A prophet, a teacher, a preacher and leader, he helped move our world in the direction of fairness and equality. He lived in a time when the south was wrought with hate and prejudice and yet he stood...
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...
Joseph, the Interpreter of Dreams, and Lighting the Candles for Hanukkah, Nights 5-8 We all experience two kinds of dreams: involuntary dreams that occur when we sleep, and aspirational dreams that motivate our personal and professional goals and pursuits throughout our personal and professional lives! Joseph understood and experienced both!...
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...
Lately a lot of people have said to me that my kids are so grown up. They’ve made a transformation. I love these comments, because I usually feel it’s commentary on the transformation my daughters, Aria and Kira, are going through and I appreciate that someone took the time to...
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...
With the conclusion of Rabbi David’s joyful installation this past Shabbat, it gives us an opportunity to look back on the initial four months of his KI rabbinate, and the opportunities that were offered to our members during this important transition. Many members met Rabbi David in both small and...
This week’s Torah portion Chayei Sarah, means “Life of Sarah,” but it actually speaks of how Abraham deals with the loss of his beloved wife, Sarah. In verse 23:2, there are two different verbs for mourning. One is “to wail” and one is “to cry.” This story reminds us that...
