Darkness and light are motifs that have been around since, well, the beginning. Coming as it does at the darkest time of the year in the northern hemisphere, Hanukkah–the Festival of Lights–acknowledges the very human desire and need for illumination. If the heavenly...
What happens when two things of equal importance are put before you? How do you decide which to focus on? Our Torah reading this week, Vayera, opens with just such a dilemma, “The LORD appeared to [Abraham] by the terebinths of Mamre; he was sitting at the entrance of...
“And now, back to our regularly scheduled program…” The month of Tishrei, which began with the soul-searching of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and ended with the joyous celebrations of Sukkot and Simchat Torah, is about to end, allowing us to settle back into a...
Twenty-Eight years ago, the day after Simchat Torah, we were blessed with a daughter whose Hebrew name is Simcha Yehudit – “Joy of Judaism” or “Jewish Joy.” The choice of name had nothing to do with the holiday itself, but a happy coincidence. Simchat Torah, one of...
In 2003, my parents, of blessed memory, became snowbirds. They spent the winter in Sarasota, Florida and the summer in Trumbull, Connecticut where my sister and I were raised. One year, during the February vacation, we took the kids to my parents, spent a few days all...
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