Ongoing Response to War in Israel and Gaza
Dear Friends, What a horrendous week and a half it has been in Israel, Gaza, and around the world. We mourn deeply the loss of all innocent life—from the more than 1,400 Israelis that Hamas terrorists killed on that devastating day of October 7, to the six-year-old muslim boy fatally stabbed in suburban Chicago, reportedly […]
Response To Tragedy In Israel on October 7
SINGULAR MOMENT IN ISRAEL As we now know, what took place this past Shabbat and Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah holiday in Israel was not the standard cross-border skirmish we have grown all too accustomed to, where Hamas militants fire rockets from the Gaza strip, Israel retaliates in order to deter future aggression, and a detente resumes, […]
How Exile Shows Up In Our Lives
Starting Wednesday night and continuing through Thursday, we honor Tishah B’Av, the ninth day of the Jewish month of Av, the date which commemorates numerous tragedies over the course of Jewish history, including and especially the destruction of the Beit Hamikdash, the Temple in Jerusalem, the focal point of Jewish worship in ancient times, where Jews would bring the […]
The Special Time of Jewish Weddings, Tragedy in Philly, and Turmoil in Israel
Dear Friends, I just got back from a brief vacation in Portland, Oregon where Caroline and I attended my sister’s wedding, which I was honored to officiate. Jewish (and presumably all) weddings are aimed at capturing an experience that can seemingly transcend time: the sheva berachot, the seven blessings that make up part of the Jewish […]
Yom Hazikaron | Israel at 75 | Yom Hashoah
Yom Hazikaron – Memorial Day This evening, Yom Hazikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day, (whose full official name is Yom Hazikaron Lehalelei Ma’arkhot Yisrael Ul’nifge’ei Pe’ulot Haeivah/Memorial Day for the Fallen Soldiers of the Wars of Israel and Victims of Actions of Terrorism) begins. It is followed immediately tomorrow night with the beginning of Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel’s […]