Blog

The sign seemed simple enough.  It was informing people that services were deferred until 5:30PM. But upon a more careful reading, it was what the sign implied that was so very powerful. It read:

Sunday, September 17
There will be no morning
services at Calvary to allow
Tree of Life to hold their
High Holiday...Read more...

I had the privilege this past Shabbat to participate in the March on Washington at the invitation of Dr. Bernice King and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King III. The invitation was facilitated through Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the ADL. Watching the crowd of people and thinking about the duration of speeches in the hot sun, I wondered how might I make a difference? Would I simply be another droning...Read more...

There is a little known date in the Jewish calendar that most likely is overlooked by many in the Jewish world. The date is the 15th day of the month of Av, known in Hebrew as Tu B’Av, occurring this year on August 2. Why should it be of any concern? It is a day for love. It has been regrettably conflated with St. Valentine’s Day as the Jewish version, although thematically they are...Read more...

I’ve been involved in the High Holy Day services since I was a boy soprano in my synagogue’s choir. Without coming across as arrogant, I’d like to think that at this point in my professional life, I’m somewhat familiar with the liturgy. Yet now is the time that Rabbis and Cantors begin their annual preparations, which in my case includes my davening, offering six sermons, and interesting English readings. There is a Midrash that tells...Read more...

We waited four years and eight months for one word, repeated sixty-three times loudly and clearly: guilty. While this might have created an opportunity for catharsis, sadly this is just the beginning. The past three weeks were incredibly painful for so many of us, and while this week offers a brief respite, the proceedings resume next week. This next phase, called the penalty phase, will be the time where the jury must determine if the crimes...Read more...