“Three pilgrimage festivals you shall celebrate before Me each year.” Exodus: 23:14 At some point in every Hebrew school curriculum a child learns the topic of the Shalosh Regalim, the [...]
Dear Parents and Guardians of Children with Special Needs, Thank you. Thank you for sitting down with me and our religious school teachers to walk us through your child’s IEP or 504 Plan. Thank [...]
Bo is an unusual Torah portion, in that it opens in the middle of a story – the story that immediately precedes the greatest event in our people’s history. The final three plagues – swarms of [...]
I recall some years ago traveling on a crowded New York city bus. Seated in front of me during the entire trip was a gentleman with his eyes closed. Coincidentally, we both exited the bus at the [...]
In Parshat Vayechi – we find the following encounter. Yaakov (Jacob) is on his deathbed and his children and grandchildren come near to receive his last blessing. Yosef (Joseph) – his [...]
There was something about Joseph. He didn’t seem able to keep up with his brothers. He couldn’t control himself. He often blurted out statements that were alternatively unfunny, [...]
“Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the break of dawn. When he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he wrenched Jacob’s hip at the socket. Then he said, “Let me go, for [...]
The great collection of rabbinic aphorisms known as Pirkei Avot – or Sayings of our Ancestors – includes this statement: “al tis-ta-kel ba-kankan e-lah be-mah she-yesh bo – don’t look at the jug [...]
“And the Eternal appeared to him by the terebinths of Mamre; he was sitting at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day.” ~ Genesis 18:1 This is the opening line of parshat Vayera, named [...]
Parshat Lech L’cha begins a journey. It is not just the journey of a single individual, Abraham; nor is it just the journey of his family. The story that we begin this week, does not end this [...]