Welcome to the month of Heshvan (Kheshvan), the eighth month on the Hebrew calendar. Originally, called Marcheshvan, from the ancient Akkadian language, it is a month without holidays! Some say it is time for settling in after the flurry of penitential and renewing holidays in Tishri. Some of our sages […]

As we take leave of the summer months and the recent Yom Tovim, I am, especially, moved by our people’s resilience during this season. I want to express my gratitude to the Kehila’s High Holiday Committee and Charlie Pilzer for planning hybrid services. It seems that hybrid is the future, […]

This week’s Parsha, Ki Tavo, and the recent readings from the prophets, highlight themes of comfort and hope and a path to achieving blessing and happiness in life. During these challenging times we again learn from these words. The Parsha begins with the instruction to the Israelites to be grateful […]

At a time when wildfires are raging out West, across Europe, Greece and Turkey and Covid is taking more lives in so many countries, we can take some solace in the passage in the Senate of a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure plan on Tuesday. For weeks, months, we have agonized […]

Anyone watching the House Hearings yesterday had to be moved by the testimonies of the four officers. These hearings took too long in coming. Let’s hope these slow turning wheels of justice will result in an outcome that can restore and, hopefully, help heal this nation. Right now, I’m in […]

Last week many Jews commemorated Tisha B’Av, a day marking several tragedies in Jewish history. Each of those tragedies, whether the destruction of Jerusalem, the expulsion from Spain, pogroms and the adoption of the Final Solution (August 2, 1941) have caused untold suffering to our people. But, yet, mir zeinen […]

This Shabbat we conclude the Book of Numbers with great emphasis on the seriousness of vows and how we use our words. Dramatically, the Parsha also describes the battles with forces that threaten the new nation and her unique mission. The verses of the Torah describe the “holy war” to […]

First of all, our hearts go out to all the victims of the collapsed Champlain Towers in south Florida. Our deepest concern for all those who are suffering through the terrible heat wave in the northwestern U.S. So much suffering continues around the globe due to Covid, especially, in India, […]

Bilaam is a desert prophet, a monotheist, trying his best to minister to the nations. However, when Balak, king of Moab, felt threatened by the Israelites passing through his country on the way to Canaan, he bribes Bilaam to curse them. Bilaam saddles his donkey and sets out on the […]

By the time you receive this newsletter I will have returned from a demonstration on the National Mall near the Capitol. I’m not planning on getting arrested this time. This gathering of more than 100 faith leaders called on Congress to pass the American Jobs Plan. As you know, the […]