Where Would You Like To Sit, Under My Vine Or My Fig Tree?
This Shabbat, we read from the prophet Zecharaiah, whose prophecy occurred during the time of King Darius of Persia. At this point in our history, some of the Jews who had been living in exile in Babylonia had returned to the land of Israel–rejoining the small remnant...
Ruth, Roosevelt and Righting the Wrongs of the Past
A few weeks ago, my husband and I visited the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan, a place neither of us had been since childhood. Based on many of the exhibits we saw, I’m not sure how much has changed since then, although Pluto was still considered a...
Who Can You Trust?
I’ve never subscribed to the idea that illness and misfortune are Divine retribution for sins, and while our sacred texts–especially the Prophets–clearly relate bad things that happen to the people Israel’s sinful behavior, I don't feel Jewish theology supports this....
Trouble for the Kohen with Trouble
This Shabbat we read parashat Emor, which includes a discussion about certain physical conditions that disqualify a kohen from performing his sacrificial duties. Leviticus 21:17-23 list these conditions–blemishes, limps, a hunchback, a broken arm or leg, and a...
Tazria-Metzora, Life In The Balance
One of my favorite TV shows is the BBC’s “Call The Midwife,” and waiting until October for the next season to start is a bit excruciating for me. Set in the late 1950s and 1960s, the show focuses on a group of women who serve as midwifes for an underprivileged...
Breaking Free, Breaking News?
“We interrupt this program to bring you this special bulletin….” Remember those? And in the days before DVRs,you couldn’t get back what you missed of the show! This Shabbat, we interrupt your annual Torah reading cycle for a special reading. Instead of moving...
Don’t Be A Slave To The Text!
If you go to the terrific website, haggadot.com, you can download and customize hundreds of Haggadot for use at your seder, or just for fun. There’s a Schitt’s Creek Haggadah, a 10-Minute Dayenu Seder for use with young children, coloring pages and yes, traditional...
The Year of Narrowing
Mitzrayim, “the narrow places.” In our Torah reading cycle, we left Mitzrayim, the Hebrew word for the lands of Egypt, weeks ago, but in our calendar, we’re just two weeks away from retelling the story of Yetziat Mitzrayim, the “Going out of Egypt,” and our redemption...
Anne, Martin and the Golden Calf
This week, the Malverne School District hosted a live program from the Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect called “Letters from Anne and Martin,” where actors read excerpts from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s “Letter From A Birmingham Jail” and "The Diary of Anne...
The Kindness of Our Hearts
This year, National Random Acts of Kindness week leads up to one of my favorite Torah readings, Terumah. Teruma means “gift,” or “donation.” As the Israelites are traveling in the wilderness of Sinai, they’re receiving the commandments from God and from Moses. They’re...
The Rules We Live By
Divin In this week’s Torah reading, Mishpatim, the Torah enumerates many, many laws governing human behavior and actions. Amazingly, the very first ordinance has to do with the proper treatment of Hebrew slaves; they can only work for six years and must go free in the...
Good Advice?
I grew up listening to Allen Sherman’s records, and they’re as funny to me today as they were back in the 60s. One song, that I discovered as an adult, is called “Good Advice.” In it, he cites a man named Otis who had invented a room that “goes side to side.” Sherman...
All We Need Is A Miracle?
Sam prays for years to win the lottery, and it never happens. As time goes on, his prayers to God become more fervent, until finally, a heavenly voice booms, “Sam, meet me halfway, buy a ticket.” Ba dump bump. It seems like this week’s Torah reading, Beshallach, is an...
Pharaoh’s Buyer’s Remorse
It’s really hard to be wrong, to have regrets, to be on the “losing” side of something. Making (and acknowledging) mistakes is also hard, if not harder. When I’m knitting, and realize there’s a mistake in the piece, perhaps several rows back, I often dig in and...
“Ko-vid-26*” and Covid-19
Last year at this time I was happily making initial preparations for the Malverne Jewish Center’s third annual Community Passover Seder. Well, you know what they say about “the best laid plans.” I tried to hold out hope that the novel coronavirus that had reached our...
Latest Sermons
Hukkat: Our Flowing Wells
In this week’s Torah portion, Hukat, we begin by learning about the red heifer, whose ashes would be mixed with water and sprinkled on a person who had been made ritually impure by reason of a corpse, in order to purify them. It’s good information, because as soon as...
Moses & Yitro At The Mountain
Yitro, this week’s Torah reading, is famous for containing the Aseret haDibrot, commonly translated as “The Ten Commandments.” There’s no question that a law code is necessary for a community to be cohesive, to have a set of principles to guide them, and to create a...
Chayeh Sarah-What We Learn From Abraham
Va y’hihu chayay Sarah may-ah shanah v’esrim shanah v’sheva shanah shnay chayay Sarah And the years of Sarah’s life were 100 years and twenty years and 7 years, the years of Sarah’s life. This week’s Torah reading is Chaye Sarah, the life of Sarah. However, it begins...
Latest Midrash HaZak
Tetzaveh: Geometric Shapes, Inner Spaces, and Shared Remembrance
Tetzaveh: Geometric Shapes, Inner Spaces, and Shared Remembrance By Peninnah Schram Two geometrical shapes jumped off the pages in this technicolor parasha, Tetzaveh: frames of gold and pomegranates. What often happens when we read and study the richly textured layers...
M’tzora: If Walls Could Talk
Dirty Concrete Wall | Rough surface of dirty concrete wall. … | Flickr M'tzora: If Walls Could Talk Reb Carl Viniar Many of us still remember our parents saying, “just wait until you’re older!” I thought they were talking about being able to do more things. Now that I...
Terumah: Bringing The Gifts Of Your Life
Terumah: Bringing The Gifts Of Your Life Rabbi Jill Berkson Zimmerman One day, I was perusing my dear friend Karen’s bookshelves because I was always interested in what new finds she had acquired. She commented to me that she had stopped purchasing new books, and...
Latest Personal Blogs
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