Category Archives: Uncategorized

One of the deepest reasons we celebrate the first two days of Sukkot as Chag (a “full” holiday complete with special davening, Kiddush before meals, and also with accompanying restrictions) outside of Israel is because without the energy boost provided by … Continue reading →

Although there are lots of details, the simple idea behind the Sukkah, the funny little huts we build shortly after Yom Kippur and occupy for a week, is to direct and focus the שפע הקודש, Shefa HaKodesh, the holy, divine … Continue reading →

The only rabbinic function I’ve ever really performed is teaching Torah, primarily to adults.  I’ve never wanted to be a pulpit rabbi and I certainly have never wanted to work in any organizational bureaucracy.  I don’t deny that these positions … Continue reading →

The tendency to wallow in guilt as we enter Yom Kippur is counter-productive.  The other extreme of sugar-coating our sins, hoping that re-labeling of them as “shortcomings”, “mistakes” and “errors” will spare us the discomfort of not always feeling great … Continue reading →

I just finished reading a beautiful article by Rabbi Aryeh Ben David which talks about the challenge to merely contain all the brokenness, not even (yet) to try to fix anything.  I was immediately reminded of the closing sentence in … Continue reading →

As Rosh HaShanah quickly approaches, I hear many of my rabbinic friends and colleagues, as well as many lay-leaders, shift their panic, pressure and urgency into high gear.  After all, these are the Big Days, our very own Broadway Premieres! … Continue reading →

There are many styles and approaches to blowing the Shofar, the ram’s horn “trumpet” whose sound so characterizes Rosh HaShanah that the day is even referred to as Yom Teruah, the Day of Teruah, one of the required “cries”.  Some … Continue reading →

As I approached and passed my sixtieth year, I found myself returning to some of my earliest passions, some of which had lain dormant for decades.  About five years ago I picked up my guitar as a serious endeavor, no … Continue reading →

Lest we become unbalanced, weighted too far in the analytic and intellectual, remember that halacha has the potential to turn our everyday actions into living poetry.

The late Lubavitcher Rebbe, in his Sichos (Conversations) and other teachings, frequently identified two related pathologies, חוסר אמונה, Choser Emuna, inadequate faith, and חוסר בטחון, Choser Bitachon, inadequate trust, as leading to many of our problems, both as individuals in … Continue reading →