This week, a community member approached me with a question that stopped me in my tracks. Having heard about my background in Jewish education, he asked what Jewish knowledge, experience, wisdom, or observance did I think a Jew should have to be considered a “knowledgeable Jew"?
Now, pers…
In this week's parsha, Pharaoh awakens troubled by dreams of abundance followed by famine. Seven healthy cows devoured by seven gaunt ones. Seven full ears of grain consumed by seven withered stalks. Joseph's interpretation is both prophetic and practical: seven years of prosperity will prec…
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…
