Category: Other

I live in Guatemala. One afternoon, while having lunch in the kitchen, I was watching the news. The screen showed images of Gaza. Our cook looked up and asked, “Oh my God, where is that?” I answered, “It’s in Israel,” knowing she…

Rosh Hashanah is called Yom Teruah, the day of the sounding of the horn. But what instrument fulfills this mitzvah? The Torah itself does not specify, entrusting the Oral Torah (Torah she’ba‘al peh) to provide clarification.

The sages…

No matter how many times I’ve heard it, the blast of the shofar startles me. It cuts through the synagogue, through the chatter in my mind, through the weight I’m carrying from the past year. In that moment, I awake. The shofar doesn’t…

There’s a silence that washes across the congregation as the shofar’s cry reverberates across the sanctuary on Rosh Hashanah. According to Rambam, the call of the shofar is supposed to rouse us to change, but what it isn’t very clear is…

5786: No More Excuses — Defend Israel

Rosh Hashanah 5786 ,  the calendar turns, but for too many Israeli families time has been frozen in agony. Two years have passed since the most savage attacks on Jews since the Holocaust. Two years in…

From Horror to Holiness

Time flies. This year, the High Holy Days arrive just after International Peace Day. Oy.

The Israel-Gaza war drags on, and not all hostages have returned. Let’s hope 5786 brings the hostages home—and Peace to…

One of the most impressive prayers of the High Holiday prayers, is ונתנה תוקף. This is the very emotional prayer where the question is asked, “Who will live and who will die?”

In order to emphasize the severity of the day, the…

Donald Trump has always understood the politics of place. From Trump Tower to Mar-a-Lago, his brand is tied to real estate as a marker of dominance. Now, in his second presidential term, his gaze has returned to one of the most controversial…

As Jews, we do not seek to convert others. In fact, we actively discourage it, believing all people are created b’tzelem Elokim, in the image of G-d, and do not need to be Jewish to be equal in dignity or worth.

Being Jewish is not a…