Rabbi Steven Abraham

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...]

Of all the deep and meaningful conversations that took place this weekend, there were two conversations that continue to challenge me. The first was from a conversation on Shabbat morning that revolved around the question of why Jews have left Judaism. The question being what is our responsibility to the unengaged or non-affiliated Jews of Omaha. What resources should we put forth, how should we go about reaching out to them, and assuming we are able to get in touch, what type of experiences … [Read more...]

    I encourage everyone to read the following article by Peter Beinart entitled "Breaking Faith". A few points stood out me, curious to hear your thoughts... "Over the past decade, pollsters charted something remarkable: Americans—long known for their piety—were fleeing organized religion in increasing numbers. The vast majority still believed in God. But the share that rejected any religious affiliation was growing fast, rising from 6 percent in 1992 to 22 percent in … [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...]

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...]