We are in the midst of the Counting of the Omer, the forty-nine days that take us from the second day of Passover to Shavuot. We refer to this period as ‘the counting of the Omer.’ It is a literal counting during which, each day, we ourselves grow one day...
In the fall of 1955, Rabbi Bertram Korn stood up at Rosh HaShanah services to deliver an extensive sermon on the state of KI. He spoke of the synagogue expanding its space, a full and active membership, the great impact KI was having on its surrounding community. The congregation was...
The word “Yisrael” means to “struggle with God.” These days we’re struggling with much more than God. We’re struggling with protestors, with media, with a relentless war, with antisemitism and misinformation. If you’re like me, your head is hurting. Your heart is pained. On college campuses (too many to count)...
What are we to make of Passover this year? How can we celebrate our freedom when our brothers and sisters remain as hostages half a world away? How do we focus our attention on ancient hardship when our current hardship is so poignant and so real? How do we raise...
I can’t stop thinking about Israel. My mind plays October 7 on repeat. I cannot unsee what I’ve seen: the brutality, the murder, the horror. Over a thousand Israelis were slaughtered. Homes were burned to the ground. Families were separated. Hostages were taken to faraway tunnels, their fate still unknown....
This week we put Purim in the rear-view mirror and set our sights on Passover. Indeed, as Jews we know that it is important to look back but we must find a way to look ahead as well. Just as we needed Purim, this story of an inspiring queen who...
When I traveled to Israel with members of our synagogue, we were in awe of the resilience, courage and strength of our Israeli brothers and sisters. In the wake of an attack like no other, Israel had come together, united in its mission to survive, to move forward and to...
On Saturday night a group of us will get on a plane for Israel. We are going there to see our beloved Holy Land with our own eyes. We will take in the landscape together. We will volunteer. We will meet with families most directly affected by that awful day...
Langston Hughes wrote: ‘I, too, sing America. I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen when company comes, but I laugh, and eat well, and grow strong… I, too, am America.’ It was 1926 when he published the iconic poem. America was a different place...
A large KI group spent four days in the south this past weekend, exploring the history of the civil rights movement. Our feet stood on hallowed ground: the spot where Rosa Parks boarded the bus for her fateful ride, the site where the 55-mile Selma to Montgomery march ended, the...
