Blog

It might be considered a gift that the Jewish community has two opportunities to reflect upon the year, with the end of the solar year upon us and the month prior to Rosh Hashanah serving as a period of introspection.  With the first quarter of the year 5783 concluded, perhaps we might reflect upon our introspection and goals from the summer past and be honest with ourselves, asking...Read more...

Have you ever stood outside on a cold, crisp night and marveled at the ability of the full moon to reflect light from the sun 91.5 million miles away and be so bright? Or the light that a single havdalah candle provides in an otherwise dark chapel? Or the reassuring ner tamid constantly aglow in the sanctuary? The nature of light that causes it to eliminate darkness transcends science,...Read more...

With the lessening of daylight hours every day in the Northern Hemisphere, it seemed perfectly reasonable to establish festivals during the darkest days of winter that celebrated light. Darkness led to fear and stranger things that went bump in the night. Unexplained phenomena occurred more frequently in the absence of light. Festivals that focus on light seemed a perfect antidote. While it is...Read more...

The final vote tabulations continue, absentee ballots are still being processed, and there will be a runoff in Georgia for one Senate seat. What does seem clear to me is that dysfunction will reign in our nation’s capital, as obstructionism will be the catch-phrase for the next two years. Despite what I have regularly preached over these past four years, that we all have so much more in common than not, and that we must work...Read more...

Some of you might remember the 1980’s movie franchise “Poltergeist”. At one point in the movie, the young daughter who is seated on the floor in front of the television turns to the audience and says, “They’re back”. Some might think the same thing when it comes to antisemites, except that in this case, they never left. What has changed is the rate of speed in which messages are...Read more...