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I overheard a conversation recently where a person remarked that Judaism has a lot of rules and regulations, but I could not hear the response of the other party in the conversation.  I have no doubt that there are many, Jew and Gentile, who hold the above understanding of Judaism, and I can see why. Other than the Ten Commandments, which we read in last week’s Torah portion, there are 603 additional mitzvot,...Read more...

One of the higher skills that separates us from most of the animal kingdom is the ability to imagine. Imagination and creativity have no doubt lead to much progress.  Science fiction writers like H. G. Wells, Jules Verne, H. P. Lovecraft and Isaac Asimov gave us the encouragement to dream beyond our current state. The communicator on Star Trek became the flip phone, and Dick Tracy’s...Read more...

In his first inaugural speech on Saturday, March 4, 1933(The Twentieth Amendment moved the beginning and ending term from March 4 to January 20, and was adopted on January 23, 1933), FDR offered what has become a timeless quote. One of the first lines was: So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is…fear itself - nameless, unreasoning, unjustified...Read more...

I’m not one for New Year’s resolutions. They are usually of the nice yet insignificant type: I’ll try to exercise more; I’ll lose x pounds; I’ll eat more fruit, vegetables and grains. We begin them in earnest and watch them, not our pounds, slowly dissolve. If anything, I’m more inclined to focus on the month of self-evaluation from Elul, the final month of the year, and think about the ways that I have become a better person...Read more...

While the words of the Four Questions might seem out of place for Chanukah, I believe that they are not this year. Let me start first with something good. We have been using technology to simultaneously light the Chanukiyah with our family in New Jersey, and it is such a joy to be a part of our granddaughter’s first Chanukah. One congregant earlier this year had remarked with a smile on his...Read more...