There's a Yiddish expression my mother loved to remind us as children: mensch tracht un Gtt lacht, “People plan, and Gd laughs.”
I thought about that a lot this week. Especially on Wednesday night.
If you were at our Annual Campaign Kickoff, you know what I'm talking about. We did our …
In Parashat Vayishlach, we witness one of the most mysterious encounters in all of our biblical stories. Jacob, alone in the darkness, wrestles with a mysterious being until dawn breaks. The Torah tells us that, “Jacob was left alone” (Genesis 32:25). That word levado (“alone”) echoe…
In this week's Torah portion, Vayetze, we find Jacob fleeing his home with nothing but the clothes on his back. As night falls, he places a stone under his head for a pillow and falls into an uneasy sleep. Yet it's in this moment of vulnerability that Jacob experiences his famous dream, a la…
“These are the generations… (toldot).” (Genesis 25:19) Our Torah portion this week opens with these words, reminding us that we are links in an unbroken chain stretching from Abraham and Sarah to this very moment.
This week, eight members of our Naples Jewish community joined thousand…
This week's Torah portion, Chayei Sarah ("The Life of Sarah") opens with a profound irony: it begins by announcing Sarah's death. Yet the portion's name reminds us that legacy isn't measured in years lived, but in the life we create for those who follow.
Sarah and Abraham each left distinct…
