The Shofar Blasts as a Metaphor for Life
If, as the Talmud tells us, the blasts of the shofar are meant to remind us of crying, (Babylonian Talmud, Rosh Hashanah 33A – specifically of Sisera’s mother – but that is another subject!), then I would offer the following.
Finding Comfort in a Caring Community
During the Yamim Noraim, the Days of Awe, it is customary to go to the cemetery to pay respects, or as I say, 'visit' those you love. This year, during this time, I was fortunate to be in the same city where my dad is buried.
Galilee Diary: Sustainability
When the Holy One Blessed be He created the first humans, he showed them all the trees in the Garden of Eden, and said to them: See how wonderful and pleasant are my creations! Everything I created – I created for you.
Cause for Celebration in Israel: Tu B'Av, the Jewish Festival of Love
When I moved to Israel, it was easy for me to forgo some of the holidays that I grew up with in America that I knew had a distinctly non-Jewish origin. It was also a pleasant surprise to discover other holidays here that unite Israelis across the spectrum – such as Tu B’Av, also known as the festival of love.
Galilee Diary: Balancing act
Everyone will sit under their own vine and under their own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid… -Micah 4:4
Galilee Diary: Bat Mitzvah
No thunder sounded. No lightening struck.
-Judith Kaplan Eisenstein, recalling her bat mitzvah, March 18, 1922 - the first bat mitzvah in North America at which a girl read from the Torah. She was the daughter of Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, founder of Reconstructionism.
Galilee Diary: Solidarity
Redemption of captives comes before other forms of tzedakah… and one who ignores the plight of the captive violates the commandment, "Do not stand idly by the blood of your fellow." [Leviticus 19:16].
Galilee Diary: Public Education
...If a teacher comes and opens a school near an existing school, in order to attract other students - or even students from the existing school - the teacher of the existing school is not entitled to protest, as it is written: "It pleased the Lord for the sake of His righteousnes
A Prayer for Peace in the Aftermath of Terror
by Rabbi Joe Black On Sunday evening, I participated in a prayer vigil at the Aurora Civic Plaza. Many people from around the country saw the proceedings live on national television. From my perspective, sitting on the dais, the scene was somewhat surreal.
Simchat Torah - To Strengthen and To Become Stronger
By P.J. Schwartz