Let Our Prayers Be Heard - Parshat Korah
06/22/2017 03:30:42 PM
How many times have we cringed after a quick response to a troubling comment or after an impulsive reaction to a difficult situation? What does it mean for us to wish for just one more moment to think about what we should have said or done?
We'd prefer not to consider our impulses are so powerful, but they are. Still, our impulses have more impact when we ignore them...Read more...
Why Now?
05/18/2017 01:43:12 PM
I wasn't alive to read the news of crematoria constructed to burn Jewish bodies in Europe during the Shoah. I wasn't alive to witness the palpable dread and concern the world must have felt as news washed upon the shores of this land of freedom and security. I wasn't alive to urge our leaders to act swiftly or to pray for the safety of those whose lives were in mortal danger.
If I was alive...Read more...
The Journey Begins
04/13/2017 03:59:46 PM
Raising a child today is exciting, daunting, and certainly all-consuming. As a young parent myself, some days the goal is just to make sure the kids are dressed with matching clothes, let alone making sure my suit doesn't have any stains on it! Loftier goals like providing your child with a strong sense of self and a deep connection to the Jewish people seem far off, but dreaming and acting for them begins even...Read more...
Who Knows?
03/09/2017 12:54:29 PM
This Saturday evening and Sunday we will gather, dress in costumes, revel with music and food, and hear the story of Esther and Mordechai, Achashverosh and Haman. In the center of the story, Mordechai speaks to Esther, now the queen of Persia, and appeals to her so she may help save the Jews who have been threatened with annihilation of genocidal proportion. Mordechai says, “Do not imagine that you, of all the Jews,...Read more...
Torah and Toothaches
02/02/2017 11:32:52 AM
In 1969, Norma Rosen was one of the brave firsts who began to fictionalize the experience of the Holocaust. More than a dramatization of events, the writings of Rosen and others like her dared to enter into a universe of curiosity. Novelists cautiously embarked on quests to discover the deep truths lying dormant in the lives of survivors and historians. Life in the ghettos before the death camps, the terrors...Read more...
A Puzzlement
12/22/2016 02:13:55 PM
The King and I, the fourth longest running show on Broadway, is playing at the Pantages Theater in Hollywood these days. It's marvelous to see how a classic production from 1950 can still speak with a modern idiom, and how the messages it conveys are particularly relevant even today. In short, the play characterizes a 19th century English educator traveling Southeast Asia to work in the country of Siam...Read more...
On Kings and Rabbis
08/11/2016 10:39:48 AM
Last week, I had the privilege of meeting King Eze Chukwuemeka Eri, the Nigerian Hebrew king on his visit to Southern California. The King was attended by three men who represented the local Igbo Hebrew community, where approximately 30 million Africans in Eastern Nigeria live. Arranged by the Board of Rabbis of Southern California, we met at the Skirball Cultural Center for a presentation...Read more...
Where Do You Draw the Line?
07/21/2016 01:53:07 PM
This summer, I was privileged to participate in the annual Rabbinic Training Seminar (RTS) at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. The seminar is a 10 day learning experience which brings rabbis and scholars from around the world to study, reflect, sing, and dream together while exploring complicated issues facing the Jewish world today. This summer, the theme of our learning was...Read more...
From Israel, With Love
06/30/2016 04:23:00 PM
Today was a trifecta of joy for our community. First, MAZAL TOV to Liza and Marc Ginsberg and Michelle and Cantor Phil Baron on the birth of a new son and grandson! Today we also celebrate with the Schreier Family as their eldest child, Ethan, led his family and community in prayer, study and chanting from the Torah at the Wall in Jerusalem. And today, as the sun sets on...Read more...
In Celebration of Rabbi Sheldon Kirsch
05/26/2016 04:44:56 PM
Who do you look up to? What qualities or experiences does this person possess that inspire you to be better person? These are always good questions to ask, but they are especially meaningful as Memorial Day approaches this coming Monday. On Monday, we will take time to ask ourselves who are the people we remember and honor for their service to this country and express our...Read more...
Thu, May 2 2024
24 Nisan 5784
