Eikev: Mindfully Eating Our Fill
One of my first classes in rabbinical school at AJR was “Contemplative Practice” with Rabbi Jill Hammer. One of the assignments had to do with “mindful eating,” where you take a small food item–perhaps a grape or raisin– look at it, touch it, squeeze it, smell it, recite a blessing… you get the picture. Finally, you eat it.
Yom Kippur: Hope, Despair And A Shining Sun
Like many of the quotes and poems that make their way into use, a poem attributed to an anonymous person in a concentration camp, or in hiding, became somewhat of an urban legend, and has often been taken out of context, as well as not accurately translated. That poem begins, “I believe in the sun, even when it isn’t shining.”
Kindness
On Rosh Hashanah, we began our prayers in the hopes of moving God, the Holy Blessed One, from kisei din, the throne or seat of judgment, to kisei rachamim, the throne or seat of compassion. Ten days later, here we are at the eve of Yom Kippur, preparing for the next 25 hours of fasting, prayer and introspection, and hoping that we will be inscribed and sealed for another year of life and blessing.
Shema: Listening, Hearing and the Shofar
Usually, we think of “The Shema” as the verses we chant or sing from the book of Devarim, Deuteronomy, and in that context, it’s a bold theological statement. It is an idea which goes to the heart of what it means to be a Jew. Once called the watchword of our faith, the Shema traditionally is among the first words we utter in the morning upon waking and the last words we say at bedtime, and from ancient times, we are invited to make these six words the final words on our lips as we pass on from this world.
A Time For fixing, A Time for Finishing
As I sit in my home, I hear things calling to me. Often, they’re coated in chocolate, but not always. More often, they’re unfinished projects, clutter, things that need new homes. I walk by, and they taunt me. I think, “It will take me 5 minutes, I should sit down and do this.” But I don’t. And I know why.
Shoftim: Can Destruction be Just?
The spotted lantern fly, what do we do? Sefer HaChinuchfinds an even deeper teaching embedded in the principle of bal taschit. He (I assume it’s a he) wrote that the purpose of the mitzvah of bal tashchit is to teach us to love that which is good and worthwhile and to cling to it, so that good becomes a part of us and we will avoid all that is evil and destructive.
VaEtchanan: Until His Final Breath
While reading this week’s Torah portion, VaEtchanan, I was struck by the “white space” in between verses 40 and 41. It seemed as though the Torah simply dropped one subject and picked up another with no segue. But since I know there’s a reason for every stroke and blank space in the Torah text, I knew there had to be some sort of connection.
Parshat Pinchas: Looking For the Good
My friend Sylvia (who says I’m her favorite female rabbi) is almost 98–may she live and be well–and is often troubled by the harsher judgments and more problematic passages in the Torah. And rightly so; there are plenty of times when our idea of a compassionate God who forgives sin is challenged.
Shabbat for the 4th of July
Two hundred and 46 years ago, the Continental Congress approved the final wording of the Declaration of Independence, and in addition to stating a litany of grievances against tyrannical British rule, they declared the 13 Colonies to be an independent union, the beginning of the United States of America.
Bekhukotai: The God I Believe In
The yearly Torah-reading cycle is a beautiful thing. Every week, when I look at the parashah for the upcoming Shabbat, I see something I hadn’t noticed before. I also the same words year-after-year, but find different understandings of them, depending on what’s going in the world, the area, my life.
Behar: Our Bodies, Ourselves, Our Land
This Shabbat we read parashat Behar, “on the mountain,” and from that mountain–Sinai–God gave Moses the commandments regarding Shmita and Yovel, the sabbatical and jubilee years, where the land was to lie fallow, not being planted or harvested.
Kedoshim: How Are We Holy?
What does it mean to be kadosh, “holy,” or “sanctified”? I always used to think it meant “elevated,” or somehow, “better than” something or someone else.
Achare Mot: “I Can DO It Myself!”
Years ago Joan Collins did a commercial for Jack LaLane Fitness Centers. She asked her butler to bring her her shoes and gym bag. When he asked if perhaps he should exercise for her, she replied, “There are some things one must do for one’s self.”
Life: The Luck Of The Draw
The Talmud (28a) shares, “Rava said: Length of life, children, and sustenance do not depend on one’s merit, but rather they depend upon fate.
Vayechi: Spiritual Care For The Dying
What Jacob needs from Joseph isn’t physical or medical care; he has 11 sons and their families to take care of him. What he needs from his favored son is spiritual support.
Latest Sermons
Elections ’25 and the Face of The Divine
Early voting has begun in New York, and I imagine in many other states as well. Even though I’m not affiliated with a party, I’m being inundated with postcards and mail from the various candidates running for various offices in our town and county. They go right into...
Rosh Hashanah 5786-We Almost Weren’t Born
Rabbi David Wolpe, in “Teaching Your Children About God,” wrote the following: “A woman once stood before God, her heart breaking from the pain and injustice in the world. “Dear God,” she cried out, ‘look at all the suffering, the anguish, and distress in your world....
Hope is Winding a Clock
Erev Rosh Hashanah 5786 As I was walking on the platform of the Malverne train station recently, I noticed a sign for a suicide hotline that said, “Your pain is real. So is hope.” We’re here this evening on the cusp of a new year, of 5786, hoping to be inscribed in...
Latest Midrash HaZak
Pinchas: Women’s Wisdom and the Ripple Effect, Muriel Dance
Photo Credit: Sergiu Bacioiu from Romania, Wikimedia.org Pinchas: Women's Wisdom and the Ripple Effect by Muriel Dance Parshat Pinchas has been like a stone thrown into the pond of my being; it has rippled out over the decades: from the Rosh Hodesh portion that...
Balak: What The Donkey Sees And Says, Trisha Arlin
Photo Credit: flickr.com/photos/aguichard Balak, What the Donkey Sees and Says ©️2023 Trisha Arlin A man Named Bilam, A people-pleaser, and A freelance speaker of Curses and blessings, Had a donkey That he rode To his professional engagements. One day Bilam was...
Shofetim: Renewing and Focusing on Life
Photo Credit: flickr.com/photos/adamhinett Each morning at the start of the Shacharit prayers there is a passage in which we praise God for having “fashioned man in his wisdom” and “creating within him life-sustaining organs… If but one of these were to function...
Latest Personal Blogs
Ending Hanukkah, A Ritual
Photo Credit: Dr. Len Radin on Flickr The idea for this ritual came about when a comment was made that when a lit candle is used to light other candles, that first candle’s flame doesn’t diminish; rather each flame becomes whole unto itself. When we kindle lights, we...
Sukkah and the Olympics, How Does The Wind Blow?
For many people, reading Talmud is like Joan Rivers’ z”l comment about how calculus might have prepared her to be a housewife; “so I can calculate the size of the living room? It’s six inches shorter than the vacuum cleaner cord!” More than one person has questioned...