Combat Hatred by Seeing Humanity in the Other
Members of our community were shocked recently to receive campaign postcards that included photos of two candidates with red “Deport” stamps below their faces.
Rabbi David Z. Vaisberg
An Ode to the Tastes of Home
One smell always takes me home: Montreal smoked meat. Smoky, salty, peppered, and spicy, the marbled charcuterie draws me in like nothing else.
How to Show the Torah Some Love
On a recent Friday night during services, after the ark doors were closed following Aleinu, my two-year-old daughter burst out screaming and had to be carried from the room. When I asked my wife later what had happened, she explained that Nava had wanted the Torah to come out, but it had not. My daughter loves Torah – in that absolute and forceful toddler love kind of way.
Given to us in that fateful moment at Sinai, Torah is our blueprint for sacred living – in relationship with God, the Jewish people, and all humankind. At Shavuot, we celebrate this gift by studying late into the night, eating sweets and dairy foods to symbolize the sweetness and lifeblood that Torah is for us, and making our own offerings to God: committing our children to the study of Torah and the embrace of Jewish tradition via confirmation.
Birkat HaMazon: More than a Simple Thank You
When you have eaten your fill, give thanks to the Eternal your God for the good land given to you.
Deuteronomy 8:10
No matter what’s going on, I always feel better after bensching (praying Birkat HaMazon, the blessing after meals).
Move Your Body, Strengthen Your Soul
There was a time in my life where I had a lot of trouble sleeping. When I encountered the following Talmudic text, I empathized with Rabbi Yohanan whole-heartedly: “Rabbi Yohanan said: If one says, ‘I swear that I will not sleep for three nights,’ he should be