Category Archives: Uncategorized

In the midst of horrific heatwaves throughout much of the world, one should plant trees, as many and as fast as possible. You don’t intentionally torch forest and field. When you so love a land, a land you’ve been exiled … Continue reading →

At the end of the day, it seems to me that unless we’ve intentionally tried to live the most selfish and destructive lives we can, we shouldn’t fear, but rather should welcome the upcoming Yom HaDin, Day of Judgement, Rosh … Continue reading →

 Facing all the challenges of today’s round of Covid, perhaps yet another lockdown in Israel, finally revealed to be planned for the Jewish Holidays because that has the least financial impact on the economy, in the middle of a heat … Continue reading →

When you’ve spent enough years of your life living with Gemara, the Jerusalem Talmud, you take it for granted that the sages who participated in this several-centuries-long project were a diverse group. Most held a variety of jobs to, often … Continue reading →

The Tikkunei Zohar is a major section of the Zohar and portions of it (mianly Petach Eliyahu (the end of the second introduction) have made their way into the daily liturgy for many Sephardim and some Chassidim as well. The … Continue reading →

When I made my first Aliyah (I actually immigrated officially to Israel twice, once in the 1980s and again in 2016) I thought I was one of a group of friends in Los Angeles who all planned to make a … Continue reading →

Both a family friend from much earlier and one of my two mentors when I first began my journey to become a rabbi, Rabbi Daniel Goldberger, of blessed memory, was, in my day, the most beloved rabbi in my hometown … Continue reading →

Writing about Parshat Naso, the Ishbitzer, in Mei HaShiloach explains that merely escaping from slavery, leaving the territory of Egypt, even receiving the Torah at Sinai, was not enough (contradicting the Seder Pesach song, Dayenu). In fact, it wasn’t until … Continue reading →

You don’t have to sign up. Whether or not you put away your car keys and smartphone and keyboard and tv and credit car, you will still have access to it. It doesn’t matter if you cover your hair or … Continue reading →

I’m not much of a joiner. I guess I value my privacy, or I’m just shy. I see myself pretty much as a hermit, although a gregarious one. Can these seeming opposites coexist in one body/one soul? Likewise, today in … Continue reading →