Prayer, in its most formal sense, comprises an important part of daily Jewish life and ritual. Daily morning, afternoon and evening services are the staple rhythm of activities in every synagogue and home throughout the Jewish world. There are many dimensions of prayer in Jewish tradition and thought. And perhaps no subject has been explained and scrutinized as closely in the writings of the... READ MORE →
More than seventy years have passed since the onset of the Holocaust and the destruction of most of the Jews of Europe. Any objective observer will have to agree that almost all of the perpetrators, planners and collaborators who participated in that heinous stain on the civilization and culture of the Western world were never punished for their behavior and crimes. Even those who were tried... READ MORE →
במסעי האחרון לארצות הברית, נאלצנו אשתי ואני כמה וכמה פעמים להיעזר בשירות הסעות פרטי. אשתי, בהיותה אדם הרבה יותר ידידותי ובהחלט הרבה יותר חברותי ממני, הצליחה בכל פעם לשמוע את סיפור החיים המלא של הנהגים שהסיעו אותנו ליעד... READ MORE →
On my recent trip to the United States my wife and I had, on a number of occasions, to use the services of a private car service. My wife, being a much friendlier and decidedly more social person than I am, was successful every time in eliciting the full life story of each of the drivers who drove us to our requested destination. All of the drivers were courteous, respectful and skilled at their... READ MORE →
The current spate of anti-Semitic media cartoons, op-eds and boycott movements serve to remind us that Amalek is alive and thriving as usual. There was a short period of time a few decades ago when many Jews were lulled into thinking that all of this baseless hatred and nastiness was a thing of the past. Even the most naive among us today realize that this is unfortunately not the case.... READ MORE →
The Torah completed its annual cycle of weekly readings this past week with the parsha of V’Zot Habracha. It begins our new yearly reading of the Torah this Shabat with the reading of parshat Bereshith. Rashi points out to us that when Moshe came to bless the tribes of Israel before departing this world he purposely connected his blessings to the past blessings of Yaakov to his children... READ MORE →
The parsha of Vayelech is the parsha that contains the smallest number of verses – only thirty – of any other parsha in the Torah. It also is the parsha that usually coincides with Shabat Shuva, the holy Shabat between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. The words of the parsha are part of the last testament of Moshe uttered on the day of his passing from this earth. As is his wont, Moshe... READ MORE →
This is the week that selichot – the penitential prayers that are added to the weekday morning prayer service – are recited in the synagogue according to Ashkenazic custom. Sephardic Jews have been reciting selichot in their morning prayer services since the start of the month of Elul. There are different customs even within these two main groupings of Jews as to which particular penitential... READ MORE →
Last week for various reasons, none of which were connected to my piety, I arrived at the synagogue for the morning prayers service very early – so early in fact that I was the one who unlocked the gates of the synagogue for entry. As I sat there alone in the synagogue waiting for the rest of our faithful to arrive, I looked around the synagogue room. In my mind’s eye I was no longer alone... READ MORE →
