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By Rabbi David Greenstein Our Torah reading begins with the death of our matriarch, Sarah. Abraham comes 'to eulogize Sarah and to cry over her.' (Gen. 23:2) The order of the verbs in this verse is noteworthy. One might have expected that Abraham's first reaction would be to cry, while only afterwards would he go Read More >

By Rabbi H. Raphael Goldtsein I did not have a clue as to what the Torah portion was about on the day of my Bar Mitzvah. I was shocked when Rabbi Joachim Prinz told me about a guy named Korah who rebelled against Moses. I had been a particularly troublesome Read More >

By Rabbi H. Rafael Goldstein In the middle of all the kvetching in the Book of the Wilderness, Bemidbar, we have a king who commissions a special curse for the people of Israel, and ends up paying to bless them. We have a talking donkey, working for a guy who is supposed to be a Read More >

Sinai and the Chariot: Two Guided Visualizations for Shavuot Rabbi Jill Hammer Both the revelation at Sinai and the revelation of Ezekiel represent profound moments in the history of connection between human being and the Divine. The two visualizations below are meditations on these two revelations. They are based on the Torah reading and haftarah for Read More >

By Rabbi Raphael Goldstein A few months ago, we studied the three distinct Creation stories in the Bible  “ the story of the seven days of creation, the story of Adam and Eve, and the Noah story. Jewish tradition has always looked at these stories with the understanding that they are about theology, not science Read More >

A couple weeks ago, I had the privilege of talking with someone interested in converting to Judaism. Since the pandemic, I have noticed an uptick in people interested in converting with me. In the conversation, I asked them more about themselves, their story, and their interest in casting their lot with the Jewish people. And although I’ve heard several answers now to this question of “Why do you want to convert?”, I had never heard this one before.

A D'var Torah for Parashat Terumah By Cantor Sandy Horowitz ('14) V’asu li mikdash v’shakhanti b’tokham “And they shall make for Me a sanctuary and I will dwell in their midst” Exodus 25:8 Some people require periods of solitude in order to best function in the world. In fact, self-chosen solitude is generally considered to Read More >

A D'var Torah for Parashat Behar By Cantor Sandy Horowitz ('14) “This land is your land, this land is my land, from California to the New York island, from the redwood forests to the gulf-stream waters, this land was made for you and me.” This classic American anthem was written in 1940 by Woody Guthrie Read More >

Our Torah portion opens with the words ‘Ele toledot (Gen. 25:19) – variously translated as “These are the generations/records/lineage/descendants/begettings of…”; basically, carrying us into the next generation, and, in the case of this week’s portion, continuing the story of Isaac and Rebecca.  However, with the announcement of a barren wife (Gen. 25:21), the next generation is put in jeopardy. Ultimately, they will have children, but in looking back, what might they have shared with each other? I was walking in the field in the late afternoon;            I was riding on a camel… I looked up and saw her from afar;            I fell off my camel… and put on my veil… I heard about her generosity and strength;            He brought me into the tent that had been his mother’s… I loved her;            I loved him… In my loss she brought me comfort;            I had left my home and found comfort in his arms… Almost twenty years later and no children;            For almost twenty years we tried and tried… I cannot think of being with anyone else;            No handmaid, no second wife, no surrogate for us… I appealed to God – for my wife is barren;            I was right by his side – and in time, my own appeal: Oy! What did I ask for?

Seven  Principles of a Biblical  Environmental Ethic While many people delight in the high drama of the first stories of the Bible in this weeks’ parashah, we can also derive a profound and far-reaching  environmental ethic from these stories – and in particular from Genesis 1.  Outlined below are 7 principles of an environmental ethic Read More >