Blog

Amongst the many expectations of clergy of all faiths is to deliver homilies that address current matters. That will usually mean linking an important holy text to their remarks, which is something that I try to do where possible on Friday evenings as well as foster a modern connection between the portion in the Torah (or Haftarah) and the world on Shabbat morning. I’ve been grateful to God that I continue to...Read more...

The date of January 27 was chosen as International Holocaust Remembrance Day because on that date, 80 years ago, the Red Army liberated Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest of the concentration camps. I had the privilege of visiting this massive site many years ago as part of a mission of Cantors, called 100 Voices, that travelled to Warsaw and Cracow. It was an experience that was life-altering, with three memories that...Read more...

If there is one positive thing about a catastrophic communal trauma, those who have experienced it know and understand the needs of those who survive another one. While words cannot adequately describe the immense pain, loss and suffering from the fires in California, certainly we have seen sufficient photographs to be emotionally moved by them. Not that surviving a mass traumatic event makes me an expert, it does...Read more...

Would it surprise you to learn that an estimated 4 billion people utilize a lunar calendar
in some capacity? In addition to 15 million Jews, there are also 2 billion Asians and 1.9
Muslims. That is approximately half of the Earth’s population. What is it about the lunar
calendar that continues to be so appealing? Is it Tevye’s answer, “Because it’s a
tradition!”, or might there be more?...Read more...

Many connect the celebration of Chanukah with the exchanging of gifts. It might surprise you to learn that gift-giving became a later addition to Chanukah, most likely starting in the United States, in imitation of Christmas. The proximity of both holidays, if not occurring on the same day as this year, made it inevitable that over time, customs from one crept into the other. That is not necessarily a bad thing, for...Read more...