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Expressing gratitude is an essential element of Judaism, as well as most world religions. From reciting a blessing when one wakes up, to...

Every year, we complete the cycle of reading the entire Torah, celebrate a bit, and then start over from the beginning, and this was the...

They don’t call the Jews “The People of the Book” for nuthin’! We are a storytelling people. From our biblical origin stories to our...

Sukkot is the Harvest Festival, a time to be grateful for our gifts and help those in our midst who are underprivileged, marginalized or...

Yesterday we celebrated Yom Kippur, arguably the holiest day of the year for Jews all over the world. It’s a day that is meant to be...

Welcome to the Days of Awe. These are the ten days between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur – between the Jewish new year and the day of...

This was back-to-school week for many of our kids, including mine. As my front porch piled up with amazon packages filled with notebooks,...

Can we talk? Can I over-share for a moment? The truth is, we are all more stressed-out than usual. We are all dealing with more worries...

In last week’s Torah portion, Shoftim, we read the famous words: “Justice, justice you shall pursue!” (Deut. 16:20) So it should be no...

Jews have adapted over the centuries. We adapted our lifestyles to different leaders ruling over us inside and outside Israel. We adapted...

Jewish tradition is very good at reminding us to embrace the painful memories, even as we are celebrating the joyful ones. For example,...

I’m spending a few weeks with my family driving cross-country for our summer break. On a trip like this, the juxtaposition of life in...

I’ll give you a head start: next weekend is Father’s Day. If you’re like me, you’ll probably receive some funny cards from your family,...

This week was graduation for many kids. Despite a year of massive disruption, they still plowed through and did what they needed to do so...

This weekend we celebrate Memorial Day, our annual day to remember those men and women who fought and ultimately died for our country....

Today is May 14. On this day 73 years ago, Israel declared its independence. And while I wish I were joyously celebrating with Israel...

While I was working from home during COVID, my days began to look a lot like my nights. My weeks began blurring together. And suddenly my...

Today we celebrate the Jewish holiday of Lag B’Omer, the 33rd day of the Omer, which is the 49-day period of time between Passover (when...

Remember when Nietzsche said, “God is dead?” As humans, we think we conquered the world: we tamed all the other animals on the planet;...

This week we celebrated Yom Ha’Atzmaut, Israeli Independence Day. It’s a day that marks a culminating moment after centuries of Jews from...

This week we commemorated Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Memorial Day. In our community, as in many Jewish communities around the world, Jews...

10. All plagues end. This weekend marked the end of Passover. After a seder to two, during which we told our exodus story with a series...

Freedom is an essential value. As we celebrate Passover this coming week, we remember and retell the story of the Jews’ exodus from...

7. Time is sacred. This week marks the one-year anniversary of COVID lockdown for me. Perhaps one of the greatest lessons I’ve learned...