Blog

I’m constantly asked how I or the congregation or community is doing five years later. I had been wondering about the answer for months prior to the conclusion of the trial and started to see hints of potential healing once the trial concluded. Smiles returned to people’s faces. Even laughter. I began to think “Maybe we will get through this” when the attack on Israel came. I’ve written...Read more...

As I walked to the JCC on Sunday evening to participate in the rally in support of Israel, fellow walkers greeted me, tried to figure out the right thing to say, of which there was none, and we entered the building. The first person I saw on my left was one of the first two patrolmen who responded on 10.27 and was shot. We embraced and I thanked him for being here. His response of “Of course I...Read more...

I pray that your fasting on Yom Kippur was meaningful, and that you have entered 5784 recharged and presenting a new and improved version of yourself. Now comes the final examination. What was the day after Yom Kippur like? If it showed a glimmer of what is capable, then that is wonderful. If it didn’t? When queried, most Jews will answer that the most important day of the year is Yom Kippur,...Read more...

My Jewish friends have begun to wish one another L’shana Tova, a happy New Year. Curious it is, the Hebrew and the English, in that L’shana Tova means “a good year”, not a happy year. The Hebrew word for “happy” is Sameach. You may have heard the word when we recognize birthdays during services, singing Yom Huledet Sameach, happy birthday to you. So how might it be that we say...Read more...

Much of my thoughts this year have been focused on after the trial, specifically to answer the question: How do we heal? Would it be comparable to the processes of the past four years and nine months? Would it be similar yet different? How do I start it? And ultimately, will we ever be fully healed?

As Judge Colville pronounced the sentence...Read more...