This Word of the Week is dedicated in loving memory to Adrian Daulby and Melvin Cravitz, who were brutally murdered in a terrorist attack outside the Heaton Park Congregation Synagogue in Manchester, England, on Yom Kippur. Zichrono Livracha – May their memories be for a blessing and May the Holy One, Blessed Be He, comfort their families among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem. Shabbat Shalom. I pray this finds you all well. When there’s a major, pivotal moment in our lives, what do we (and others) tend to do? We pray! We call out to God! “God, please land this job for me!” “God, if you get me out of this, I’ll devote the rest of my days to you.” “God, if you let me survive this, I promise I’ll never do anything bad again.” In the Haftarah (II Samuel 22:1-51) that accompanies this week’s parsha of Ha’azinu (Deuteronomy […]

Shabbat Shalom! I hope this finds you all well. It’s always sad, nay, heartbreaking when talking to someone who can’t seem to straighten out their life and keeps making the same bad decisions and pattern of harmful choices, spiraling ever downward. When asked why they can’t get their act together, they often say things like “I’m too old to learn new tricks,” “I’m too far gone to change my ways,” and perhaps the most tragic of them all – “I’m just a lost cause.” As I’ve often said, Hebrew is a very intentional and blunt language. It says what it means and means what it says. For example, potato is patuakh adamah or “ground apple”; a religious holiday is often called a yom tov or “good day;” and a hospital is called beit cholim or “house of the sick.” We currently find ourselves in Aseret Yamei Teshuva – the days […]

This is dedicated in loving memory to York County, Pennsylvania police officers Detective Mark Baker, Detective Sgt. Cody Becker, and Detective Isaiah Emenheiser who were killed in the line of duty this week as well as four US Army Soldiers from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (“The Nightstalkers”) who are presumed dead following a helicopter crash in Washington State this week. May all their memories be for a blessing and may we always remain grateful for their selfless and patriotic service and humbled by their ultimate sacrifice. Shabbat Shalom. I pray this finds you all well. There once was a man who wanted, as they say, “to save the world.” But yet, he never actually did anything or took any measures to save the world. When asked why he was all talk and no action he replied, “The problems are simply too immense and I’m only one person. Nothing […]

Shabbat Shalom. I hope this finds you all well. In life, there are some things where you can go in a lot of directions – for instance: what you want to have for dinner, what color you want to paint the living room, where you want to go on vacation, and who you want to vote for. Then there are those boilerplate things that are yes-or-no, black-and-white, and right-or-wrong like…don’t steal, rob, trespass, or lie, don’t put your hands on someone without their permission, and don’t murder. They’re both simple and profoundly powerful. In this week’s parsha of Ki Tavo (Deuteronomy 26:1-29:8), Moses tells the people that after they cross the Jordan, half the tribes are to assemble on Mount Gerizim while the other half take their place on Mount Ebal. Moses then tells them that anyone who breaks the commandments will be cursed, to which the people are to […]