Toward Shabbat

None of us has been untouched or unchanged by these past months of the pandemic. Some of us have been devastated by the death of ...

When I first began to pray regularly several years ago, the second paragraph of the Shema—which we read this week in Parashat Ekev (Deut. 11:13-21)—was ...

A week after reading Lamentations by flashlight, sitting, grieving, and feeling the depths of despair, the Shabbat of Comfort comes just when we might need ...

As Shabbat comes to a close, we will move to mourning as we mark Tisha Be'Av, the ninth day of the month of Av. On ...

Like the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, I have now completed an incredible journey. One where the path was not always paved, where I ...

Nina and I recently celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary, just weeks before our oldest child Aaron’s marriage. As a country, we will be celebrating Independence ...

As I reflect on the profound privilege to serve as a Marshall T. Meyer Rabbinic Fellow here at BJ these past two years, I find ...

Beginning in the mid 1800s and to this day, June 19th...is a day when African Americans celebrate their independence and freedom and we all celebrate ...

Is there really a place for me in the Jewish community? This question emerged because Max had recently come out as non-binary, identifying as neither a ...

How can one integrate such a violation of morality, systematic dehumanization, and the eradication of 6 million of our people and the instability of living ...

We are able to begin the process of seeking those second chances for korban—and yet, we may feel a sense of being adrift as we ...

My parents did not start blessing me on Friday nights until I was in high school. What inspired the change? The “aha” moment for them ...

On Sunday evening we will begin our celebration of Shavuot. May they be quiet days of rest, of breath-taking and reflection, and of receiving the ...

The celebration of Lag Ba-Omer turned into a devastating tragedy at Mount Meron in Northern Israel when dozens were killed and injured. We pray for the healing ...

“Rise up, Judge of the earth, give the arrogant their requital. How long shall the wicked, Adonai, how long shall the wicked exult?”—Psalm 94:2-3 Tuesday, ...

I have always said that I would not be the person I am today, had I not been born and raised in New York City. ...

I sat surrounded by a cloud of hundreds of other kids and adults, each wearing all white, singing and praying the words of poet Haim ...

My favorite Pesah joke is the oldie but goodie that goes like this: How many psychologists does it take to change a lightbulb? Only one...but the ...

Who will ever forget the fear of the Angel of Death, roaming outside? We worked hard to elude him, and still do, by isolating, masking, ...

Early in my rabbinate I met with a bat mitzvah girl who declared she was born at the wrong time. The roaring ‘20s would have ...

I often think of Shabbat as a homecoming at the end of my week. Just as after a long day of work or school or ...

As Shabbat approaches, Purim 5781 draws to a close; and thus, so too do we close out one full cycle of haggim in the era of ...

Exactly one year ago today in the Jewish calendar, at 7:04AM on the 7th of Adar, I received the following text from my childrens’ school: ...

משנכנס אדר מרבין בשמחה When the month of Adar arrives, we increase in joy.  —Babylonian Talmud Ta'anit 29a When the month of Adar arrived last ...

In these winter months, being ready to welcome in Shabbat is not always an easy feat. As the sky rapidly darkens through the late afternoon, ...

When my husband Jeremy first mentioned the idea of using cloth diapers for our daughter, I laughed. After quite a few back and forths, a ...

It seems hard to believe that, a little over two weeks ago, a mob of insurrectionists stormed the Capitol intent on overturning an election, subverting ...

For the past ten weeks, an incredible tension has been eating at my heart.  In the days immediately following November’s election, Biden’s call for unity ...

In stark contrast to 2020—a year of horror and despair—2021 is a year full of hope. We have arrived, at long last, to the end ...

Last Wednesday began like most school days this year. I woke up, davenned, made breakfast for my kids, and then walked them to school accompanied ...

One of my favorite Hasidic tales is about the wandering brothers, Rabbi Elimelech of Lizensk and Rabbi Zushe of Anipoli. The two brothers were often ...

Today we mark the final day of Hanukkah, and in doing so, mark our final holiday in the cycle of a year of hagim at ...

Last January, I began studying Daf Yomi, a seven and a half year journey through the entire Babylonian Talmud, at the rate of one page ...

7:45AM- I turn my computer on and sign into Zoom. I put on tallit and tefillin and recite a couple of quiet prayers in preparation ...

The Talmud (Berakhot 54b) declares that there are four types of people who must offer thanks to God with a thanks-offering and a special blessing: ...

My husband, Jeremy, and I both agree that, whenever we move into a new apartment, it doesn’t quite feel like home until we have hosted ...

This past Shabbat, my family and I were called to our kitchen window by the sound of crowds cheering, cars honking, and noisemakers of all ...

This was said to be the election of a lifetime, the most consequential and fateful of presidential elections in a very long time, maybe ever.

The first time I saw a sky full—really full—of stars, I was 19 years old. I was in the tiny mountain village of Las Delicias ...

Each year, when my Tuesday lunchtime class starts up again, it finally feels like the long holiday season has come to a close and “regular” ...

Since I first came to Kabbalat Shabbat at BJ several years ago, I have been moved by the music, tefillah, and spirit of your community, ...

Who are the vulnerable in our community who need to be surrounded with care and love? You know who they are—the sick, the elderly, the ...

After these many months of communal and personal isolation, we will soon greet a new Jewish year. These weeks before the High Holy Days are ...