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...]

A few months ago I received a box in the mail from the NYTimes; a seemingly simple promotional item – but what I found truly transported me. The box itself was a pair of glasses, or to be more specific, an item called Google Cardboard. Google created glasses (like these) to be used with a smart phone, that give you a virtual reality experience, that is to say, it looks like you are somewhere else. Using the NYTimes app, you can be anywhere in the world; from underwater, to the campaign trail, to … [Read more...]

    A worthwhile video to watch that both shows the amazing work being done in the State of Israel as well as the strength and resilience of one of its founding fathers. As we sit just a week away from Rosh Hashanah I am haunted by the fact that my children will grow up only learning the names of people like Peres and Wiesel in text books. I fear that the greatest minds of our generation will decide to become tycoons of business and technology rather than take enter the arena … [Read more...]

This year in preparation for the High Holy Days I wanted to provide a reading list. Perhaps to be read before the Holy Days, to get you in the mood, or to print off and read during services. This list is far from comprehensive, just the beginning of the journey Books Days of Awe: A Treasury of Jewish Wisdom for Reflection, Repentance, and Renewal on the High Holy Days – S.Y Agnon The Days Between: Blessings, Poems, and Directions of the Heart for the Jewish High Holiday Season by Marcia … [Read more...]

This year at Beth El we are taking a slightly different approach to the High Holy Days. No unlike Passover, we pushed ourselves to think about the theme of the Holy Day. At its core, Passover is about Freedom, it is the story of our ancestors journey from slavery to freedom and so we decided to create an experience that was thematically similar yet meaningful in 2016. Whether it was the tents inside the social hall, the camels and donkeys outside or the Hazzan and I dressed up as Moses and … [Read more...]

Purchase the Secret Book of Kings   I recently began reading a wonderful new book entitled "The Secret Book of Kings" by Israeli author Yochi Brandes.  The synopsis of the book is as follows: "The Secret Book of Kings upends conventions of biblical novels, engaging with the canonized stories of the founding of the Kingdom of Israel and turning them on their heads. Presented for the first time are the heretofore unknown stories of the House of Saul and of the northern Kingdom of … [Read more...]

On Thursday I will return to being a student, albeit virtually, at Hebrew College in Newton, Massachusetts. Over the summer I read a post about a brand new MA and Certificate program at Hebrew College on the topic of Interfaith Families Jewish Engagement, and was immediately interested in learning more.  While the rabbinate does not require continuing education credits, it is a must if you want to keep up with most recent data, trends and innovative programming across the Jewish world. The … [Read more...]