04
Feb
I know the father of a young man from Boca who “made it big.” His name is Blair Walsh and he is the kicker for the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings.
29
Jan
Dear Friends,
If you needed a job and came across an advertisement - Wanted: Men and Women to Serve as Priests and Priestesses - would you be interested in being a priest? My guess is...
22
Jan
Dear Friends,
I was thinking about a dimension of my life growing up in Connecticut. It is missing today. I grew up as a first generation American. My mother and her family were refugees from...
08
Jan
Dear Friends,
My youngest son, Noah, went back to Boston after a wonderful few days visiting. Early Monday morning we went deep sea fishing on a charter from Ft. Lauderdale. It was windy, a bit rainy,...
25
Dec
I’ll be brief...you’re probably at the movies!
Tobi suggested to me that one of the nice things about Christmas day is that there is no work, there’s a sense of quiet around, it is...
18
Dec
I’m teaching more classes this time around than ever before. I’m doing so not because I need to fill my schedule, but because I truly enjoy the “give and take” of Torah learning. There...
11
Dec
All recent reports indicate that Americans are more fearful now than at any time since the days after 9/11. That is disconcerting.
Recently, a friend told me he drove to a theater in Miami...
04
Dec
Dear Friends,
This week I heard two radically different speakers dealing with issues of Jewish life and religion.
On Wednesday night, I was privileged to hear former Prime Minister Ehud Barak. He spoke about the challenges...
20
Nov
I am very sad. I am sad for people I knew and loved. I am sad for people across an ocean who died at the hands of terror. My heart is broken for those...
13
Nov
This has been a week of nearly unbearable pain and sadness for a family, and yes, an entire community. No one should know such a tragedy. No one can even imagine the depth of...
06
Nov
Dear Friends,
I just returned from a few days of study and conversation with a group of rabbis and scholars. We immersed ourselves in texts and conversations about the challenges of interfaith relations. We studied sources...
31
Oct
Dear Friends,
There are three parts to this week’s message - I hope you have the time, inclination and the patience…
1. In this week’s Torah reading there are two very significant narratives which predominate. The best...
24
Oct
Dear Friends,
A week ago last Sunday, there was an op-ed piece in the Sunday Week in Review section of the New York Times titled "A Search for Identity Leads to Religion." In it the...
16
Oct
Dear Friends,
The outbreak of murderous knifings and senseless violence in Israel has been another chapter of tragedy that we have witnessed for far too long. Our hearts, thoughts, prayers and hopes once again turn...
09
Oct
Dear Friends,
Over the last few weeks, I have been writing letters reflecting the optimism that can be gleaned from our tradition. From l’chayims to simchateinu, I have written about the words and expressions and...
22
Sep
Dear Friends,
A number of years ago, Time Magazine placed a mirror on its annual “Person of the Year“ edition. It was pointing to a number of things - how self-sufficient (we believe) we have become,...