Blog

I sat in my sukkah the first two days of Sukkot, grateful for the blessing of some of the most perfect weather I could hope for on this festival. I have learned from Yinzers[1] that Pittsburgh has two seasons, Winter and Summer, or as one person corrected me, Winter and Construction, although there are those that claim that it is Football and Summer. When I first moved to Pittsburgh, I...Read more...

The seven days leading up to Rosh Hashana this year were rather intense. It began when I had the distinct privilege of being invited to the White House for the United We Stand Summit against H. Words cannot describe the honor of walking through the White House to the East Room as a guest of the President (I have been invited to attend the President’s Rosh Hashanah gathering this Friday,...Read more...

The children of Uvalde, Texas returned to school this week amidst much media fanfare. I cannot answer the question as to whether it would have been better to leave them alone, or to share with all of us how they are doing. For those who do not know, the school where the shooting took place did not re-open. Rather, students from that school are attending other schools with the district. Many...Read more...

I’d like to assume that everyone who has access to good medical care will arrange for an annual physical. Those who need specialists most likely visit them with some degree of frequency. We have the oil changed in our automobiles regularly to keep it running safely and optimally. Many homeowners opt for a policy with an HVAC company, to have the filters changed and the system cleaned and...Read more...

We have just come out of the nadir of the Jewish year, and entered a seven-week period that will culminate with Rosh Hashanah. Each of the seven Haftarot were specially chosen, offering worshippers words of comfort, hope and inspiration to mourn the destruction of both Holy Temples yet find the strength to move forward beyond this national trauma. How is it that Judaism continued to survive...Read more...