A Born Chooser
The In our Torah portion for this week, Avram is called by G-d. G-d says to Avram “Leave your birthplace, your home, the home of your father, and come with…
Exploring Beneath the Surface
Have any of you ever been scuba diving? I have been snorkeling. The two most memorable times have been on a reef at the tip of the Sinai desert…
All My Bones Cry Out
Recently a five-year-old girl was attending her first bar mitzvah our synagogue. She looked on expectantly as she waited for the service to begin. She saw the Cantor on the…
Will YOU 10Q? : Shabbat Shofetim
We are fast approaching the Yamim Noraim, the High Holidays. Only three more weeks to go.As we all know people the world over celebrate their respective s New Years with…
Knocking on Heaven’s Door
This evening marks the beginning of the month of Elul. The month of Elul is a time of preparation for the New Year. In a few weeks we will gather…
Accepting the Torah Parasha Eikev 5779
The Rabbis tell two stories about how Israel accepted the Torah. The first is a modern retelling of an ancient midrash by Rabbis Rick and Ellissa Sherwin: God had gone…
BDS and Israel’s Barring of US Congresswomen
“Israel Bars Two US Congresswomen” blared the headline from the front page of the Chicago Tribune. I thought that you might want to hear my thoughts on this. By now…
A Message About Poway
My Dear Congregants, Sadly, I once again write following a tragic and needless atrocity, this time against Jews celebrating the final day of Passover in their synagogue. Clearly, we Jews…
There’s No Place Like Home
The journal Science recently published an intriguing study of the health effects of long-term space flight. Astronaut Scott Kelley spent almost a year aboard the International Space Station between March…
Making the Slave Bible
Have you ever wanted to simply “cut out” a part of the Torah? There are many parts of the Torah we find very hard to read because we find them…