Dear Friends, This year, on this Shabbat, we are combining our celebration of Shemini Atzeret, when we recite Yizkor, with our celebration of Simchat Torah, when we rejoice with the Torah! How do the two holidays fit together? Actually, very well…. The inclusions in the Amidah prayers we recite on Simchat Torah are, in any Continue Reading »
Dear Friends, The think I love most about Sukkot is that we are “commanded” to rejoice for the entire seven days of the Sukkot holiday! Imagine that! I am sooooo ready to try my very best to fulfill this mitzvah! I look forward to seeing you all at Zoom services tonight, Friday night, and tomorrow Continue Reading »
Dear Friends, It is never too late to change. And, if you ever doubted that….The proof is in this week’s Torah portion! In this week’s Torah portion of Ha’azinu, Moses, who once considered himself incapable of speaking persuasively, suddenly changes his mode of communication. Instead of continuing to recount the history of the Exodus, the Continue Reading »
Dear Friends, It is so easy to take our lives for granted. It is so easy to forget our humble origins. But, the Torah reminds us again and again that we are all descendants of slaves – that our ancestors experienced the bondage of Egypt and the bitter reality of oppression. Our Torah portion includes Continue Reading »
Dear Friends, Justice, peace and love are the foundational values of Jewish living. We are supposed to love God with all our soul, with all our might, with all our being. It is not clear exactly how we do that, but, if you ask me…..it is even harder to imagine how we are supposed to Continue Reading »
Dear Friends, Undoubtedly, both our sense of self and our “vision” are molded by the sights and sounds that we absorb from our surroundings. Our Torah portion, Re’eh [which in Hebrew means: See…], acknowledges the power of what we see and what we hear to shape our lives, as it is written: “See, I have Continue Reading »
Dear Friends, I hope you will join us for services this weekend, both on Friday night and on Shabbat morning, when we will celebrate Shabbat and the bar mitzvah of Brad Rubenstein! Mazal Tov to Brad and to his entire family! It is amazing how deeply the weekly Torah portion seems to touch our very Continue Reading »
Dear Friends, If we have ever had issues with our Torah, it was probably with our double Torah portion of Mattot-Mas’ey. What difficult passages are those? Let’s start with the verses that describe the power of a husband to annul the vows of his wife. If people’s words are meant to be taken seriously, why Continue Reading »
Dear Friends, Standing up for what is right, especially if it might be seen as self-serving, takes courage. It takes determination. It takes faith – faith that our actions can lead to positive change. And, in order for change to happen peacefully, it also takes leadership that is willing to listen respectfully. It takes leadership Continue Reading »
Dear Friends, When people ask one another: “How are you?” most often we say: “I’m fine!” and we leave it at that. But, are we really fine? Let’s learn from Korach, the quintessential rebel in the Biblical story of the Exodus from Egypt. Korach complained to Moses, saying: “Why are you taking leadership of our Continue Reading »
Copyright © 2024 Rodef Sholom Temple. All rights reserved. Website designed by Addicott Web.
