Rabbi’s Torah Commentary

“I pledge allegiance to the flag, of the United States of America.” This was one of the first pieces of text I was ever asked to memorize. I learned it when I was really young, long before I even knew what it meant. As an adult, I can recite this pledge and can debate its […]

I love studying with 12 and 13 year olds, as they prepare for Bar/Bat Mitzvah. Their minds are beginning to expand, and if you hook them into a topic they like, the stuff they come up with is amazing. I was speaking with one young man about heroes. He said that a hero was someone […]

I have been blessed with some incredible teachers and mentors. Chanan Brichto, Ellis Rivkin, David Weisberg (all of blessed memory) shaped my seminary tenure at Hebrew Union College and my entire approach to our Jewish tradition. Gene Levy and Zeke Palnick (o.b.m.) are my Rabbis, but then, as Rabbi means teacher, I have to count […]

We are getting near the time to prepare for the High Holy Days. This is a time when we are commanded to self assess. Tradition calls on us to look at the year that has passed and figure out where we need to do things differently in the coming year. The traditional liturgy will call on […]

The Greeks developed four different understandings/concepts of love. They range from the erotic to the simplicity of human dignity. Modern day psychologists argue that whichever the “version” of love one experiences, there exists three basic components. One can determine the extent to which one loves based on how one defines their level of connection on […]

“Khazon Yeshayahu ven Amotz …” 41 years ago, this Shabbat, I stood at the bimah (pulpit) in my Synagogue in Las Vegas, Nevada and chanted these words. They begin the Haftarah (prophetic reading) associated with this week’s Torah portion. I was an ornery young man who maintained that the whole process of Bar Mitzvah was […]

We are coming close to the culmination of the Torah storyline. We are nearing the River Jordan, Moses is preparing for his farewell address (Deuteronomy), and the people are making plans for establishing life in the “Promised Land.” They have wandered for forty years, watching a generation wane and another mature, weathering waves of war, […]

We hold strong opinions on what we believe to be right or wrong. Yes, it is appropriate to try and follow traditions and keep them alive, but often times, we get so caught up in our own interpretations of what is and is not right, that we forget that rules and traditions perpetuate to ensure […]