15
Dec
Dear Friends,
There is an old cute Yiddish adage about Hanukah that goes something like this: Such a big deal for so little oil. For many reasons, Hanukah has become a very big deal....
21
Aug
Dear Friends,
There are big events happening in our world. I know that you are, perhaps too familiar and too distressed about many of them. Attached below you will see a letter from the Boca...
30
Jun
Dear Friends,
Over the past week, a few comedians either spoke offensively or did some crude things. Although some accuse them of hate crimes or incitement to violence, I cannot judge that. Some comedians said...
16
Jun
Dear Friends,
Please indulge me as I share news from my family...
I've been away this past week. Together with Tobi, we were in New York for the birth of a granddaughter. It's been thrilling! I...
02
Jun
Dear Friends,
It's the day after Shavuot, and whereas we frequently feel a bit low after a celebration, not to mention too much eating, this year I have wonderful news to share!
Our "Counting the Omer"...
25
May
Dear friends,
A good friend of mine who was always somewhat of a "news junkie" told me that he doesn't watch the news anymore. Part of his claim was that the world is so disturbing,...
19
May
Dear Friends,
We all have dreams. And we create visions of how we want things to be. I believe that one of the purposes of religion is to create a language of aspiration and hope....
13
May
This Shabbat, we will be reading one of the most significant and central Torah readings of the year. It is Parshat Kedoshim. It begins with a commandment to be holy. The concept of holiness...
05
May
You are receiving my letter today instead of tomorrow, and the reason is that it is Yom HaShoah. Tonight we will commemorate with a beautiful program and memorial.
This Shabbat, we read a parshah known by...
28
Apr
Sunday night I was driving through downtown Boca and noticed how busy the restaurants were. Living in my rather cloistered world, I wondered if they were filled with non-Jews. My son, Noah, laughed and asked...
08
Apr
In a community like ours, we know there are shifts taking place between the generations in the way that Jewish life is seen and observed. This creates some challenges for Jewish continuity, but it...
01
Apr
When you are in a place - any place - long enough, there are events that are repeated. And over time, they become like rituals and they become institutionalized.
This morning, we hosted the grandparents of...
31
Mar
Dear Friends,
I understand my responsibilities as a rabbi in many different ways. There is the teacher, the interpreter, the pastor, the communal representative, the administrator, etc. After nearly thirty three years in the rabbinate,...
11
Mar
Dear Friends,
One of the things that we often hear in both political and social conversations is that the next generation is the first that will have less than their parents.
Our immediate response is “Oy...
04
Mar
A wise guy is a “know it all.” A wise guy pretends to have answers when they don’t. A wise guy is arrogant and deprecates others. A wise person is just the opposite.
22
Feb
The airways and internet have been filled with the conversations of politics and political candidates for some time now. There are days when one might think there is nothing else happening in the world except for the election.