I believe we all have, on some level, thought about the question of “what comes next?”  For me the question came front and center a year and half ago. Many of you know that while Shira was pregnant with Leor both of my mother’s parents passed away. We honored their memories by naming our son, Leor Ezra, after my grandparents, Lee and Roz. Both of my grandparents were incredible people, full of love and laughter, and deeply committed to Judaism. We trust that Leor will inherit his … [Read more...]

It was the year 70 CE and the Second Temple in Jerusalem was under siege by the Roman Legions. Before the Romans breach the walls of the city, Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai, one of the leading rabbinic figures of the time, and his students decide to abandon the spiritual and governmental capital of the Judean state.  To give up Jerusalem, even while the Temple is still standing. Ben Zakkai knew there was an agreement made with the Roman soldiers, that every night the dead were moved outside the city … [Read more...]

In October 2010, a well-known comedy writer by the name of David Javerbaum created a twitter account entitled the tweet of God. For some giving a voice on twitter, of all places, to the creator of the heavens and earth may seen heretical but when you realize that twitter has 241 million active users, perhaps twitter is a more useful form of communication than trying to talk to your flock in church or synagogue. The “Tweet of God”, which has over 2 million followers, has become so popular that it … [Read more...]

I don’t recall exactly when it happened, one of those things that occurs when you are not looking and can’t remember when it wasn’t this way. What I know is that it happened and at some point talking about Israel became exhausting. It shouldn’t be…it doesn’t have to be…but most times it is.It’s exhausting because the conversation isn’t about our love of a place, our a connection to a people. Israel has turned into an issue as opposed to an idea. It has become a litmus test of someone’s … [Read more...]

Who Shall Live & Who Shall Die – The Death Penalty in Jewish Law On Wednesday the Nebraska Legislature voted 32-15 to repeal the death penalty, a move that would replace lethal injection with life imprisonment. Over the past few weeks many have claimed that God, and by extension the Bible, gives society the ability to put to death those who have committed crimes so egregious that prison is simply not enough. Those who read the Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible, know that the Capital … [Read more...]

Shabbat Tzav 5775Since I was a child I was fascinated with the prophet Elijah. As a child I remember staring at the Cup of Elijah sitting on our Seder table looking for any of the wine to disappear, proof the prophet had stopped by our home. In addition to being present on Passover Elijah is also present at a host of other Jewish ritual events, most notably Brit Milah, the Passover Seder, and the conclusion of Shabbat to name but a few. On Passover we open the door for Elijah for whom we believe … [Read more...]

It has been said that Jews have a 6th sense, thesense of memory.  There is not doubt that our most common denominator as Jews is our bond to certain watershed events in our people’s past. A bond that travels through our religious identity, for it makes no difference whether someone was born Jewish or converted in; our ancestors are their ancestors, our stories and their stories. We all have certain memories, photographs in our own minds, or smells take us back, if only for a moment to a … [Read more...]