Rabbi's Weekly Message
Perashat Ki Tissa 5779
Friday, February 22, 2019Funambulism. What a great word. It means tightrope walking. Leaders, parents, influencers of all types and stripes are those who see the wire, even when it's not so clearly visible. The Torah tells us that Moshe returns from on high and something is different. He doesn't know it yet, but his face is shining like the sun from speaking with Hashem. The Jewish people see the blinding countenance of their leader, ablaze with holiness and light, and they are afraid. ...
Read more...Perashat Tessaveh 5779
Friday, February 15, 2019Opportunity is dead. At least that's what NASA is telling us. 15 years ago on January 25, 2004, a little rover landed on Mars. It was called Opportunity. The rover was built for a 90-day mission to explore that reddish dot in our night sky for signs of life or habitability. Somehow that 90-day mission would stretch into 15 years. ...
Read more...Perashat Terumah 5779
Friday, February 08, 2019Most of us think that one gives with their hands. However, that is incorrect; we actually give with our hearts. There are so many problems in our world, and so many people who are hurting. One might ask why Hashem doesn't just solve the problems Himself? He certainly has the means to take care of the poor! ...
Read more...Perashat Mishpatim 5779
Friday, February 01, 2019אִם־חָבֹ֥ל תַּחְבֹּ֖ל שַׂלְמַ֣ת רֵעֶ֑ךָ עַד־בֹּ֥א הַשֶּׁ֖מֶשׁ תְּשִׁיבֶ֥נּוּ לֽוֹ׃ כִּ֣י הִ֤וא כסותה לְבַדָּ֔הּ הִ֥וא שִׂמְלָת֖וֹ לְעֹר֑וֹ בַּמֶּ֣ה יִשְׁכָּ֔ב וְהָיָה֙ כִּֽי־יִצְעַ֣ק אֵלַ֔י וְשָׁמַעְתִּ֖י כִּֽי־חַנּ֥וּן אָֽנִי׃ If you take your neighbor's night garment as collateral you must return it to him before evening. It is his only clothing, the sole covering for his skin. In what else shall he sleep? Therefore, if he cries out to Me, I will pay heed, for I am compassionate. ...
Read more...Perashat Yitro 5779
Friday, January 25, 2019In this week's Perasha we continue on our journey and relive the most colossal event to ever take place in Jewish history, Matan Torah, the giving of the Torah. The entire Am Yisrael, over 2 million men, women and children, as well as the souls of all future generations of Jews, assembled at the base of Mount Sinai to accept the Torah from Hashem. However, the Torah we accepted at Sinai was already in existence and had been studied and practiced for many generations prior to Matan Torah...
Read more...Perashat Beshalah 5779
Friday, January 18, 2019Music is special. Somehow it has the power to bridge people of different cultures, ages and backgrounds. I remember reading something beautiful that Billy Joel had said, "I think music in itself is healing. It's an explosive expression of humanity. It's something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we're from, everyone loves music." What is that power?
Read more...Perashat Bo 5779
Friday, January 11, 2019My email inbox is jammed. I'm sure your inbox is too. It's jammed with things I don't think are important. I am being inundated with warnings not to miss "Great Opportunities" as this is my "Last Chance" to "Bring Home the Best" of yet another "Giant Sale". I dare not wait, linger or tarry, after all, "This Is BIG". Retailers are really feeling the heat of poor sales in brick and mortar stores as the human race moves continually closer to that heaven on earth reality of free and instant delivery. They slash prices with sale after can't miss sale in an ever more desperate attempt to lure us in. Macy's, seen as a rock solid retailer for so long, had its stock price drop 19 percent in trading Thursday morning after reports of dismal holiday sales. ...
Read more...Perashat Va'era 5779
Friday, January 04, 2019Remember Bambi? I do. It was actually quite traumatic as a child to watch the scene in the Disney film where baby Bambi and his mother flee the hunters and sprint to the safety of the forest's cover. As Bambi, out of breath, reaches the forest's edge he excitedly exclaims, "We made it! We made it Mother!". However, after a deafening moment of silence, he realizes his mother is no longer behind him and tentatively edges out from his shelter to call out in the most piteous of voices, "Mother? Mother, where are you?". Heartbreaking! That heart wrenching feeling is exactly what ...
Read more...Perasha Shemot 5779
Friday, December 28, 2018We were once a family. Could you imagine that? This whole sprawling, varied, beautiful thing called "The Jewish People" was once just the Goldbergs or Cohens, or perhaps the Farhis or Tawils. There was a nameplate on the front door, and that was it. Abraham Abinu Tawil. How did we become the Jewish Nation?...
Read more...Perashat Vayehi 5779
Friday, December 21, 2018"Swear to me!" Yaakov Avinu pleads with his son Yosef to be buried in the Land of Israel, "Please...If I have found favor in your eyes...do kindness and truth with me. Do not bury me in the Land of Egypt. Let me lie with my fathers!" I am always struck by the urgency of this conversation. I imagine the pleading tone of Yaakov as he begs the son who has the power to grant him his request. As he apologetically tells his son hat it wasn't his choice to bury Rachel outside of Maarat Hamachpela and asks him not to hold it against him. Powerful stuff. ...
Read more...Mar 28 2025
Adar 28 5785