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I’ve been thinking a lot today about the Biblical story of the Exodus. Specifically, I have been ruminating on the start of the story, when “a Pharaoh who knew not Joseph” arose to power and decreed that all Jewish boys should be put to death. The story focuses on one defiant family who rescues a male infant from his demise, with that boy (eventually) becoming the adult Moses who, as God’s mouthpiece, rescued a people, my...Read more...

Smartphones.  Where would we be without them?  With the simple swipe of a finger or a voice command, we have instant access to email, texts, twitter feeds, the weather forecast, directions, internet search engines, our music library, games, podcasts... Truly any information one could possibly want is available...as long as the phone battery doesn’t run out of juice!   Countless testimonials affirm...Read more...

The Rohingya are the largest minority group in the country of Myanmar. They are the “other.” Their skin color is different, their facial features are different, their language is foreign and they practice Islam as opposed to Buddhism. And Myanmar is blaming all the nation's problems on them.

So, the Rohingya are fleeing and searching for a place to go. Many are going to Bangladesh; however, Bangladesh simply cannot absorb many...Read more...

According to tradition, one must have reached the age of 40 before studying Kabbalah. But you can study Leonard Cohen at any age. And with soulful melodies such as “Hallelujah” and “Famous Blue Raincoat,” “Suzanne” and “First We Take Manhattan,” my hope is that we don’t wait another day to study Cohen.

By studying Leonard Cohen one might walk away with an appreciation of the later spirituality presented in...Read more...

I’ve told you this before. I love Shabbat. I think it is one of the most brilliant of commandments in Jewish observance. It is time to pause the busyness of life and just stop. What a thing to be commanded! I couldn’t think of something more valuable than being asked to stop working and just reconnect-with people, with tradition, with God. Around 3 pm on Fridays, the tenor of the office changes. Yes, we are busy getting ready for...Read more...

This week, I reflect on one of my favorites teachings by Zionist thinker Ahad Ha'am. He teaches us: “More than the Jewish people have kept Shabbat, Shabbat has kept the Jewish People.”

As Reform Jews we do not typically keep Shabbat by abiding by certain rules or regulations. Rather, Shabbat is a time for us to gather and to regroup with our community at the culmination of each work week. In my opinion, coming...Read more...

You don’t have to be tall to be a giant, as evidenced by Xernona Clayton.

Xernona is a civil rights leader and pioneering broadcasting executive. She is also the driving force behind the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame outside of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Historic site downtown. The Walk of Fame includes the footprints of civil rights pioneers – still marching after all these years – including the footprints...Read more...

Though Chanukah will have concluded when this column is published, a Talmudic passage related to the holiday (BT Shabbat) provides us with an important lesson that extends well beyond the Festival of Lights. The message is timely and, if taken to heart, might inspire more gracious and accepting behavior as we prepare to begin 2018.

The passage referenced above is one in which first century rabbinic sages, Hillel and Shammai, debate...Read more...

How many of you actually have a Chanukiah that uses oil? For those who might, does anyone really know how long the oil is supposed to last?

Whether or not we know exactly how to fuel an ancient lamp one thing that we can all relate to and that is the power of light. Both literally and figuratively, we need light to grow. Our eyes and skin need light, our circadian rhythms require light. Our souls thirst for enlightenment, our brains...Read more...

Bim bam…  yam bai bai bim biddy bai… yai lai lai lai… ay oh… 

How many of our Shabbat evening services over the years have begun with wordless melodies – niggunim – that include these or other simple sounds?  Have you ever wondered why?  Centuries ago, the early Chasidic sages of our tradition discerned the spiritual truth that, sometimes, words simply get in the way.  Getting stuck on the words...Read more...