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This D’var Torah is lovingly dedicated to you, our Beth El family. Today marks the 5th anniversary of Rebbetzin Eliza and I becoming your Rabbi and Rebbetzin. It is an honor to humbly serve and spiritually lead you all. We have been through so much together, both good times and crucibles alike. Through it all, you have inspired us, taught us, and most importantly, befriended and loved us. For that, we are beyond grateful. Thank you for an incredible 5 years! – Rabbi Aaron, Rebbetzin Eliza, Goonie, Rilke, Walter, and Stumpy Shabbat Shalom. I hope this finds you well. Fear – it is the ultimate naturally-occurring, organic paralytic. Its effects can put most lab-made substances and drugs to shame. Fear can literally cause people to freeze up, to act against their own deeply-held beliefs, cherished morals, or best self-interests, or to not even act at all. So what are people […]

Shabbat Shalom! I hope this finds you well. There’s this young man. One day he’s out for a drive and he spots this little corner of heaven. This plot of land has everything he’s ever wanted and dreamed of – forests, creeks, fields and streams, fauna, wildlife, views of the mountains, and heavenly sunrises and sunsets. The problem- there’s no house. No worries – he has a custom one built there. But it’s expensive – so he takes out loans and finds a better paying job. Now there’s another problem – the new job requires a lengthy commute. Well, he gets up early every morning and goes to bed late every night. Some of his friends who say they never see him any more, tell him he lives to work rather than working to live. Undaunted, he continues this routine for years and years until the loans are paid off. […]

Shabbat Shalom! I hope this finds you all well. There’s this classic Ashkenazic tale: a man who, for years, has been committing the sin of lashon hara (“the evil tongue”) i.e. gossip, realizes the error of his ways and goes to the local Rabbi to ask how to begin the process of teshuvah (“atonement and repentance”). The Rabbi tells the man to take a feather pillow, rip it open, and leave the feathers outside overnight, and then come back to him the next day. The man does this and asks his Rabbi what comes next. The Rabbi instructs the man to go and collect all the feathers. The man protests that this is impossible as strong winds have carried all the feathers away. Here comes the lesson…the Rabbi teaches the sinner that just as all the feathers cannot be recovered, so too can the damage to everyone’s reputations that were harmed […]

This D’var Torah is humbly dedicated in loving remembrance to the victims of the recent flooding in Texas.  May their memories be for a blessing, and may the Holy One, Blessed Be He, comfort their friends, relatives and communities among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem. Shabbat Shalom. I pray this finds you all well. One of the things that I appreciate most about Hebrew is how intentional and straightforward it is. It’s direct, it’s clear, concise, practical, and it says what it means and means what it says. For instance, a potato is a tapuakh adamah or “ground apple,” a wave is gal and a wheel is galgal (think of motion), and finally the Jewish New Year is Rosh Hashanah, literally, “Head of the Year.” In this vein, the use of the word “house” or beit/bayit is extremely literal. A hospital is known as beit kholim, “house of the […]