Rabbi Steven Abraham

A few years back, after Leor was born, Shira and I knew that we needed to sit down with an attorney and have a will drafted on our behalf. At first, I admit, the thought of doing this was incredibly morbid. The idea of talking about the end of life, at the very beginning of my son’s life, was something that I did not want to think about. Facing questions regarding what happens to our children in our God forbid untimely passing were topics of conversation that I was not prepared to face, and yet … [Read more...]

Sir Ken Robinson, a world renown author and speaker on education tells the following story. “I heard a great story recently -- I love telling it -- of a little girl who was in a drawing lesson. She was six, and she was at the back, drawing, and the teacher said this girl hardly ever paid attention, and in this drawing lesson, she did. The teacher was fascinated. She went over to her, and she said, "What are you drawing?” “And the girl said, "I'm drawing a picture of God." And the teacher said, … [Read more...]

The case made against a Jewish State begins and ends with the argument that Judaism is only a religion and not a people. This distinction while subtle is crucial to understand because it allows detractors to argue that the Jewish People are not deserving of a sovereign nation of their own. The argument goes that Israel's adversaries take no issue with Judaism, it is the Jews unwavering belief in peoplehood and nationhood that cannot be accepted. Jerusalem has been our home for over 3500 … [Read more...]

Too often I get asked “Rabbi, why do you care so much about interfaith families, shouldn’t we be spending more on time on Jews” or better yet “Jews who care about Judaism,” that is Jews who married other Jews? The short answer is that I have found that as a people, a community, and a synagogue we can walk and chew gum at the same time. That is to say that as long as we keep our eyes looking forward on our vision, we can meet the needs of the entire Jewish community. Additionally, for the better … [Read more...]

Lech Lecha teaches us a great deal about our religion, the concept of monotheism, ourselves in regards to our community and the land which the Torah tells us we would one day inherit. The Torah tells us to be a blessing to the world, for many of us, we have been blessed in our lives with a great deal and so we learn that not only are we supposed to be a blessing, but to be a blessing to others as well. My friend, colleague and rabbinical school roommate – Rabbi Josh Rabin wrote the … [Read more...]

Growing up I loved Halloween, what could be better than a night when you get to dress up, stay up late and eat candy. I remember as a kid walking around the neighborhood with my parents and then as I got older walking around with friends. Today our children don’t observe Halloween, like Christmas, Easter or Kwanza…Halloween is not our holiday. (Although it does provide excellent opportunities to buy Purim costumes) Our kids hand out candy, saying hello but they understand that its ok for us … [Read more...]

Kol Nidrei The question of whether a rabbi should talk about politics from the pulpit is a debate throughout the Jewish Community. Clearly it is against the law, rightfully so, for clergy to endorse a candidate from the pulpit. Yet the root question is whether a rabbi should talk about issues that are deemed to be controversial. Issues being addressed and debated on Sunday morning TV, the editorial pages of newspapers and most importantly in the cathedrals that hold our local, state and … [Read more...]

The lessons my mother and grandmother (of blessing memory) taught me are too numerous to count, yet the one that makes me laugh the most often, the one that constantly comes back to haunt me all too often, is the following: “Don’t eat at a Shiva Minyan.”  As a child whenever someone in the community died, my mother or grandmother would always bake something to bring to the mourner’s home, it was always something that would smell delicious. We would walk in for services, we would put the … [Read more...]