Rabbi Steven Abraham

On the second night of Passover, we begin to count. One day of the Omer. Then another. And another. Seven weeks, forty-nine days, an ancient ritual that stretches like a thread between two peaks of Jewish experience: the sea and the mountain. Freedom and revelation. Exodus and Sinai. It is a journey that begins with rupture and ends with covenant—but it’s the space in between that contains the deepest work. The Torah tells us to count these days, but it doesn’t say why. It gives no context … [Read more...]

Many diaspora Jews cherish their Jewish identity, yet quietly wonder: is Israel necessary for Jewish survival today? Living in liberal democracies like the United States or the UK—where religious freedom and cultural expression thrive—it’s tempting to see Israel as optional, a beloved heritage site rather than a vital political necessity. I've heard thoughtful congregants say, “Judaism is a religion, not a nationality. Why must we tie our future to a nation-state?” It’s a fair question in … [Read more...]

On Yom HaShoah, we gather not only to remember but to feel. We remember the six million, but more than that, we mourn them. We grieve a world that allowed it to happen, and a people who were left with no power, no voice, and no refuge. The Holocaust defies comprehension, not because it is so far removed, but because it is so achingly close to the heart of every Jew. It lives in our bones, in our language, in the silence between generations. And now, we find ourselves living through another … [Read more...]

There is something unnerving about being better defended by outsiders than by one’s own kin. That is how I feel reading Douglas Murray’s On Democracy and Death Cults—a tight, fierce little volume that ought to be read with both reverence and discomfort. Reverence, because in a year of historic abandonment, Murray has emerged as the single most articulate and courageous defender of the Jewish people in the West. Discomfort, because he is not Jewish. He is what many of us used to call “a righteous … [Read more...]

It has been 18 months and 14 days since the atrocities of October 7, yet the world remains disturbingly indifferent. The antisemitic spectacle by the Irish band Kneecap at Coachella is the latest chilling example. At Coachella—a festival defined by artistic freedom and youthful rebellion—the crowd erupted in cheers at slogans like “Fuck Israel, Free Palestine,” and grotesque accusations of Israeli genocide. The hypocrisy is staggering: an audience of LGBTQ youth cheering for a cause that … [Read more...]

On the seventh and eighth days of Passover, we commemorate the dramatic and defining crossing of the Sea of Reeds. This pivotal event encapsulates the heart of Jewish faith—not just as a passive belief, but as an active, courageous decision. As the Israelites stood at the shoreline, trapped between the raging Egyptian army and seemingly impassable waters, their situation was dire. It was here, in this perilous moment, that divine promise required human courage. A striking midrashic tradition … [Read more...]

In August of 1941, Dorothy Thompson published a compelling and unsettling piece in Harper’s Magazine entitled, "Who Goes Nazi?" At a casual dinner party, Thompson silently appraises the gathered guests, wondering which among them might support fascism if conditions were right. Her unsettling conclusion is that the propensity toward authoritarianism and fascism is not rooted in class, nationality, or ethnicity but rather in character—in the moral and psychological makeup of individuals. Her … [Read more...]

On the first night of Passover, a night meant to symbolize freedom, redemption, and the safety of home, Governor Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania found himself and his family confronting an unthinkable nightmare. At approximately 2:00 a.m., as the Shapiro family rested after hosting a Passover Seder, state troopers urgently awoke them to inform them that their home had been set ablaze. Molotov cocktails had shattered windows, igniting the dining and piano rooms in an act of shocking violence and … [Read more...]

What I want my children to know about being Jewish in 2025 cannot be inscribed on a donor wall. It will not be found in the minutes of a board meeting or captured in a gala tribute video. It cannot be named after you. It is something quieter, deeper, and more enduring. It is the knowledge that Judaism is not a legacy to be managed but a covenant to be lived. And that the great project of Jewish continuity will not be secured by capital campaigns or commemorative plaques. It will be secured by … [Read more...]

Last night, as our Seder drew to a close, my son Leor asked a question that reverberated far beyond our dining room. He noticed that the PJ Library Haggadah we were using had omitted a line many of us consider central to the Passover liturgy: “Vehi sheamda lavoteinu velanu…” — “And this is what has stood by our ancestors and by us; for not only one enemy has risen against us to destroy us, but in every generation, they rise against us. And the Holy Blessed One saves us from their hands.” When … [Read more...]