Rabbi Shabbat Greetings

Shabbat Shuvah is upon us – this once a year Shabbat moment during these ten days of repentance.  This is the moment when we immerse ourselves in deep reflection, examining how…

What was it like before the beginning of time? Time did have a beginning, both from the point of view of science and the point of view of religion. What…

In his famous song, “My Way,” Frank Sinatra shares: And now the end is here; And so I face that final curtain, my friend I’ll make it clear. I’ll state my…

In 1894, President Grover Cleveland followed the examples of Oregon, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York and declared the first Monday of September Labor Day, in celebration of those who…

This Torah portion, Ki Tetze (Deuteronomy 21:10-25:19) has the largest concentration of mitzvot  – commandments – of any portion; 74 out of the traditional 613 commandments are found in it. Of…

Our journey from slavery in Egypt to freedom in our Promised Land is an essential theme of our Torah. This collective memory shapes our liturgy, in prayers such as Mi…

In this week’s Torah portion, Re’eh (Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17), Moses explains to the Jewish People: “See, I give you today a blessing and a curse”. (11:26) But why use the verb “SEE”? Why…

We read in this week’s Torah portion, Eikev (Deuteronomy 7:12-11:25), Take care lest you forget Adonai your God and fail to keep [God’s] commandments, rules, and laws that I enjoin…

There are a plethora of crime TV shows. In one series, the detectives, after some good sleuthing (and not so great dialogue), were interviewing witnesses and trying to convince various…

The Book of Deuteronomy, Devarim (Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22) which we begin reading this week, is written in a different style than the earlier biblical books – not from the perspective of…