Author: Marc Rudolph

Whether you are a child beginning studies in our own Congregation Beth Shalom Religious School, or an adult studying at an Israeli Ulpan, one of the first Hebrew words that…

This week’s parasha has to be the most difficult Torah reading of the entire year. It is the final chapter in the Book of Leviticus. The Jewish people are still…

Last Saturday night, as we left the synagogue following Havdalah, we were greeted by a Full Moon rising above the treetops in the East. To the right of the moon…

[The following sermon was written with our third graders, who participated in our Friday night services, in mind.] I don’t know how many of our students in the third grade…

I’m pretty certain that the sages who are responsible for the text of the Torah scroll knew nothing about April Fools’ Day. But every once in a while, a person…

Once again, the entire world looked on in horror this week as terrorist attacks struck the city of Brussels. This past year alone we have seen violence, destruction and an…

Years back I heard of a congregation that read only from the first book and a half of the Torah-- Genesis and half of Exodus, Shabbat morning. As you know,…

President Ronald Reagan famously exclaimed, “Trust, but verify”. The phrase is actually a saying from the Russian language.  Historians tell us that President Reagan used it often in his arms…

Last Sunday morning our synagogue was buzzing. The social hall was filled with booths put up by each classroom in our Religious School.  Just imagine about 170 children, with parents…

In our Torah portion of this week we read about the instructions that G-d gives Moses for building the Tabernacle. The Tabernacle is like a portable synagogue where the Jewish…