March 24, 2023 Yesterday, for a meeting of the Brookline Clergy Association, a monthly gathering of clergy and leaders from various faith groups across the city, I had the opportunity to visit Yusuf Mosque for the first time. It also happened to be the first day of Ramadan, and as the azan, the call to …
March 17, 2023 As we conclude the book of Exodus with this week’s double parashah, Vayakhel-Pekudei, we find the Israelites constructing the Mishkan, the tabernacle, according to precise instructions given by God to Moses. The Israelites are still in their infancy as a free people, making their way through a vast and unmarked desert wilderness, …
March 10, 2023 When I turned 16, I was lucky enough to inherit my dad’s 1996 Jeep Cherokee. It was deep blue, with one of those iconic 90’s side decals, all manual locks and windows, just enough AC to tolerate the Texas heat, and only a cassette player, which I retrofitted with an adapter to …
March 3, 2023 This Shabbat, as we are about to enter into the holiday of Purim, is known as Shabbat Zachor – The Shabbat of Memory. This comes from the Torah reading that is traditionally read, alongside the weekly Torah portion on this Shabbat, which reads: “Remember what Amalek did to you on your journey, …
February 24, 2023 Back in college, I took a sociology class called “Intimate Relationships,” an exploration of the nature of deep emotional connections and relationships. During this course, I was introduced to “The Five Love Languages,” a book written by relationship counselor, Gary Chapman. These are Words of Affirmation (like complements), Quality Time (doing shared activities), Receiving …
February 17, 2023 This week’s Torah portion brings the many mitzvot (lit: “commandments,” though I prefer the term “sacred obligations”) for which the Israelites will be responsible, having entered into the covenant with the revelation of the 10 commandments at Mount Sinai in Parashat Yitro, which we read last week. Many of the mishpatim (laws) …
February 10, 2023 There’s an old Jewish story that goes a little something like this: Two neighbors were fighting over a piece of land; each was convinced that the land belonged to them, and they fought over it for a long time. Finally, to settle their differences, they called for the rabbi, and agreed to …
February 3, 2023 This Shabbat is known as Shabbat Shira (the Shabbat of Song) because in this week’s Torah reading, we have the Song at the Sea! From this section we take the words of Mi Chamocha – the blessing for redemption traditionally recited as part of the morning and evening Shema each day, and …
January 27, 2023 Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day, a UN-designated day to mark the day that Auschwitz was liberated in 1945. As the Jewish Telegraphic Agency explains: “While Jewish communities traditionally observe Yom HaShoah, which typically falls in April to mark the beginning of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of 1943, tomorrow’s commemoration is often …
