A Time to be Silent and A Time to Speak
According to the Book of Ecclesiastes “there is a time to be silent and a time to speak.” Our parasha this week demonstrates a time when perhaps it would have…
What’s Jewish about Marie Kondo…. Parasha Tzav
The late comedian George Karlin is perhaps best known for his 1972 monologue on the seven words you can never say on television. Quaint. Of course, that was before cable…
Coming to the Aid of Your Enemy
Contemporary essayist Steve Goodier tells a beautiful story about his 11 year old son, Robert, who was being bullied at the school bus stop by some older boys. Steve called…
The Importance of Listening
Did you know that Sitting can be harmful to your health? An analysis of 13 studies of sitting time and activity levels found that those who sat for more than…
Be an Upstander
That great 19th Century African American educator Booker T. Washington exemplified the power of a simple and modest spirit. A story is told of a day when Washington, then a…
Blessing Our Children
Last year Rabbi Joseph Ozerowski from the Jewish Healing Network gave a three-part seminar to our Congregation, on “Bikur Cholim”, the mitzvah of visiting the sick. The seminar was designed…
Are You Listening G-d?
In her book Traveling Mercies, Some Thoughts on Faith, American novelist Anne Lamott writes: I was remembering an old story the other day about a man getting drunk at a…
Dreaming Big
In her 2002 album, entitled “Halos and Horns” Dolly Parton sings a ballad about an old mountain woman who people come to see from miles around. This woman had a…
Why the Pittsburgh Shooting is Different
We woke up on Thursday morning to the sickening news that 12 people had been killed by a gunman inside a California country-western dance bar that was hosting an event…
Message to My Congregants about the Pittsburgh Massacre
I sent the following internet message to CBS congregants on October 31 My Dear Congregants, Middy and I were leaving Israel Saturday night when we read the shocking news about…