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Transitions. Life is full of them. We leave behind the past and embrace the future, and all the while, try to continue to live in the present. We see transitions play out every day, and as I write this, the United States is reacting to the news that President Biden has decided to not seek reelection, fully and wholeheartedly (as far as I can tell) endorsing and lifting up Vice President Kamala Harris.

The saying goes, “you can take the kid out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the kid.” How and where we grow up has a huge influence on how we move forward and live the rest of our lives.

BIB 101 Introduction to Bible Dr. Ora Horn Prouser This course will introduce the student to modern critical studies of the Bible. Selected texts of the Bible will be studied in-depth while broader thematic issues will be surveyed. Various methodologies used by biblical scholars will be introduced to the students. The many Read More >

Sylvia, z”l, passed away Erev Pesah at almost 100 years old. Although her loyalty was to the Valley Stream Jewish Center and Rabbi Yechiel, she often told me that I was her “favorite female rabbi.” She was intelligent and thoughtful, often adding her own “midrash” to our texts. She was raised to fight for civil rights, women’s rights and peace, and raised her children the same way. Her insights always added to our discussions.

When I began studying Hebrew grammar with my friend Rabbi Amanda Brodie, one of the first things I learned about was the vav ha-hippukh (flipped), also called “the consecutive vav” or “narrative vav.” Normally, this letter serves as a prefix meaning “and,” “but” and sometimes “or,” and the word following is in the imperfect tense (an uncompleted action). But when this letter has a patah vowel (straight line) and the next letter has a dagesh (dot) inside, it “flips” and translates to something like, “and then….” basically suggesting a continuation of the narrative, and a perfect (completed) action.

Parashat Vayeitzei was my bat mitzvah portion, and while I remember chanting the Haftarah on Friday night and reading a speech I wrote (with lots of my father’s help!) about it, it wasn’t until AJR’s retreat where we explored this parashah through song, dance, art, intensive study and more that I realized how special it was, and how it spoke to me personally.

By Rabbi Margaret Frisch-Klein Sitting in a private bathroom stall on Rosh Hashanah at the synagogue, I notice a sign for a hotline for domestic abuse. At first I am saddened that we need such signs. Then I am relieved that we are beginning to acknowledge that domestic abuse happens even in the Jewish community. Read More >

Someone gives you a gift and says, "Here, I was saving this for just the right moment." That is what I love about discovering new insights in the Torah; it was there all along just waiting for the right moment to be revealed. The first paper I wrote in rabbinical school was based on a Read More >

BIB 290: Parashat Hashavua Rabbi Jef Segelman In this course, we will study the weekly Torah portion. (We will cover Sefer Breisheet and the High Holiday and Sukkot readings).  While our goal will be to gain a greater knowledge of the Parashah itself, we will be equally concerned with exploring a variety of commentaries and resources so that each Read More >

AJR is authorized to administer Federal Student Aid to eligible students! AJR is now able to facilitate Federal Direct Loans in the form of Direct Unsubsidized Loans on behalf of the U.S. Department of Education (ED). This link has valuable information published by ED about Federal Student Aid including Direct Student Loans. Interest Read More >