We Jews and our non-Jewish neighbors are really obsessed with holidays this time of year. Between approximately the Autumnal Equinox and the Winter Solstice, Jewish and non-Jewish Americans have practically all our holidays, especially our better-known ones. As this season progresses, the holidays change. Here in Brooklyn, we feel it … READ MORE

The names of the Jewish calendar’s months have long been mysterious. In a couple cases (Heshvan and Av), there is some question as to whether the common calendrical name is a full name or a nickname (i.e. vs Marheshvan and Menahem Av, respectively). In other cases (namely Aviv/Nisan), the months’ names … READ MORE

The other day in shul I quipped that if one wanted to name Sefer B’Midbar according to its main theme, The Book of Complaints would probably be better than The Book of Numbers. Throughout the book, the Israelites complain, mainly about their food. Their complaints include a lack of meat, to … READ MORE

The period between Pesach and Shavuot is known as “the Sefirah” (more commonly, though not really correct, if you ask me, is “the Omer”) during which we “count the Omer.” The Torah commands that we count the days and weeks, seven of each, of this period, during which bundles of … READ MORE

It is always a struggle to discuss political matters within and among the congregation. Today my words are especially difficult to find. The election of a new national president is always a significant current event and this year is all the more historic. I know many are sad, angry, terrified. … READ MORE

Parshat Re’eh offers one of the most interesting mitzvot in the Torah, that of Ir HaNidahat, the city that ‘has gone astray’, i.e. begun to worship idols. The details are basically “if you hear of a city that has gone astray, blah blah, kill them all”, so, y’know, no biggie. … READ MORE

In my previous pulpit position, I worked with a rabbi who wouldn’t allow himself to be on the Mi SheBerakh list. No matter how ill he got (although, in the time I was there, he never got that ill) he would refuse to let his name be mentioned during the … READ MORE

Among the most terrifying words a rabbi can declare from the bimah are “the new month of Elul begins in the coming week.” Every year I shake a little, taken aback by how soon that statement means the new year will be beginning. But, as a friend of mine would … READ MORE

In Parshat Sh’lah Lekha (also simply called Sh’lah), we are presented with the term “Eretz Zavat Halav u’Dvash”, referring to the land of Israel as a “land flowing with milk and honey.” Those of us with a sense of food history know that the dominant food sweetener of our people … READ MORE