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Recognize and Rebuke
Friday October 24, 2025/ 2 Cheshvan 5786/Shabbat Noah Hevre/Friends, נֹ֗חַ אִ֥ישׁ צַדִּ֛יק תָּמִ֥ים הָיָ֖ה בְּדֹֽרֹתָ֑יו ׃ Noah was a righteous man; he was blameless in his age Commentators throughout the ages have debated Noah’s merits based on the wording of this verse. Some say he was a righteous man despite the depravity of his generation; others say he only seemed righteous in comparison to the depravity of his generation. What might read like an incidental matter of b
Expert Beginners
Friday October 17, 2025/ 25 Tishrei 5786/Shabbat Bereishit Hevre/Friends, Every year on Shabbat Bereishit we restart the cycle of Torah reading and immerse ourselves once more in Judaism’s foundational narratives. How many times have we read these stories? How many times have we grappled with their meaning? How many different insights and interpretations have we been taught? And yet we do it all over again year after year, decade after decade, generation after generation, p
A Sukkah of Peace
Friday October 10, 2025/ 18 Tishrei 5786/Sukkot Hevre/Friends, Could it really be that tonight will be the last Shabbat on which we...
This Could Be It
Friday September 19, 2025/ 26 Elul 5785/Parshat Nitzavim Hevre/Friends, What motivates someone to make change? Is it a sense of urgency,...
Shofar: Soundscape of Repair
Friday September 12, 2025/ 19 Elul 5785/Parshat Ki Tavo Hevre/Friends, My close friend and master Jewish educator, the late Rachel...
My Public and My Privates
Friday September 5, 2025/ 12 Elul 5785/Parshat Ki Tetze Hevre/Friends, Most of us think of the work of repentance as intensely private...
Doubling Down on Justice
Friday August 29, 2025/ 5 Elul 5785/Parshat Shoftim Hevre/Friends, It’s hard to keep me indoors when the lake and the trails beckon,...
Which Ties Bind?
Friday August 22, 2025/ 28 Av 5785/Parshat Re'eh Hevre/Friends, Last night, 25 of us gathered to watch the documentary, “October 8”,...
Hearing is Believing
Friday August 15, 2025/ 21 Av 5785/Parshat Ekev וְ הָיָ֣ה עֵ֣קֶב תִּשְׁמְע֗וּן אֵ֤ת הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים֙ הָאֵ֔לֶּה And if you do listen to...
Comfort and Rest
Friday August 8, 2025/ 14 Av 5785/Parshat Va'Etchanan/Shabbat Nachamu/Tu B'Av Hevre/Friends, Nederland, Colorado, is a gateway town to...
We Know Why
Friday August 1, 2025/ 7 Av 5785/Parashat Devarim Hevre/Friends, It’s every person’s worst nightmare. Someone you love gets up in the...
Endings and Beginnings
Friday July 25, 2025/ 29 Tamuz 5785/Rosh Chodesh Av/Parashat Matot-Masei Hevre/Friends, It’s the end of the week, and the start of the...
Moderation in a Time of Extremism
Friday July 18, 2025/ 22 Tamuz 5785/Parashat Pinchas Hevre/Friends, I'm wiped. The news coming from Israel as well as from other...
No Rest for the Weary
Friday July 11, 2025/ 15 Tamuz 5785/Parashat Balak Hevre/Friends, If you can get past the talking donkey in this week’s portion of Balak,...
Independence Means More Than Freedom
Friday July 4, 2025/ 8 Tamuz 5785/Parashat Chukkat Hevre/Friends, This is it. My most favourite weekend of the year. All of my four...
It's not the Journey; It's the Destination
Friday June 27, 2025/ Rosh Chodesh Tamuz 5785/Parashat Korach Hevre/Friends, After our fascinating and meaningful (and fun!) Rabbi on...
Hide and Seek
Friday June 20, 2025/24 Sivan 5785/Parashat Sh'lach Lecha Hevre/Friends, “Hola” from Basque Country where we are entering the final two...
Watch your step, but don't be afraid to look up!
Friday June 13, 2025/17 Sivan 5785/Parashat Beha'alotekha דַּבֵּר֙ אֶֽל־אַהֲרֹ֔ן וְאָמַרְתָּ֖ אֵלָ֑יו בְּהַעֲלֹֽתְךָ֙ אֶת־הַנֵּרֹ֔ת...
Holy Housework
Friday June 6, 2025/10 Sivan 5785/Parashat Naso Hevre/Friends, Our departure for Rabbi on the Road 2025: Basque Country is just days...
When Eyes Speak Louder than Words
Friday May 30, 2025/3 Sivan 5785/Parashat Bamidbar שְׂא֗וּ אֶת־רֹאשׁ֙ כּל־עֲדַ֣ת בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֖ם לְבֵ֣ית אֲבֹתָ֑ם...
Let's be Honest
Friday May 23, 2025/25 Iyar 5785/Parashat Behar-Bechukotai IN MEMORY OF SARAH MILGRIM, Z”L, AND YARON LISCHINSKY, Z”L Hevre/Friends, ...
Wounded Warriors
Friday May 16, 2025/16 Iyar 5785/Parashat Emor כּל־ אִ֞ישׁ אֲשֶׁר־בּ֣וֹ מ֗וּם מִזֶּ֙רַע֙ אַהֲרֹ֣ן הַכֹּהֵ֔ן לֹ֣א יִגַּ֔שׁ לְהַקְרִ֖יב...
Confessions of a Loyal Zionist
Friday May 9, 2025/11 Iyar 5785/Parashat Aharei Mot-Kedoshim לֹא־תֵלֵ֤ךְ רָכִיל֙ בְּעַמֶּ֔יךָ לֹ֥א תַעֲמֹ֖ד עַל־דַּ֣ם רֵעֶ֑ךָ אֲנִ֖י...
Timing is Everything
Friday May 2, 2025/4 Iyar 5785 Hevre/Friends, What a nice coincidence to preside over a bris on Tuesday during this week’s Torah portion...
Sing Your Way to Freedom
Friday April 18, 2025/20 Nisan 5785/Pesach Hevre/Friends, The Torah readings for the days of Passover together retell the epic of our...
Have a Terrible Passover!
Friday April 11, 2025/13 Nisan 5785/Pesach Hevre/Friends, With Pesach just days away, I struggled this week when, at the end of meetings...
Answer the Call
Friday April 4, 2025/6 Nisan 5785 Parashat Vayikra Hevre/Friends, וַיִּקְרָ֖א אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֑ה וַיְדַבֵּ֤ר יְהֹוָה֙ אֵלָ֔יו מֵאֹ֥הֶל מוֹעֵ֖ד...
Preparing for Freedom
Friday March 28, 2025/28 Adar 5785 Parashat Pekudei/Shabbat Hachodesh Hevre/Friends, This Shabbat - Shabbat Hachodesh - announces the...
Finding Home
Friday March 21, 2025/21 Adar 5785 Parashat Vayakhel Hevre/Friends, Spring has arrived and with it warmer temperatures, melting snow,...
Joy and Mourning
Friday March 14, 2025/14 Adar 5785/Purim Parashat Ki Tisa Hevre/Friends, As Shabbat arrives, the conclusion to the week of shiva for...
Picture This
Friday March 8, 2025/7 Adar 5785/Shabbat Zachor Parashat Tetzave Hevre/Friends, Yesterday Andi and I had the sweetest pleasure of...
Where do you do Jewish?
Friday February 28, 2025/30 Sh'vat 5785/Rosh Chodesh Adar Parashat Terumah Friends/Hevre, Of the many different names for God imagined...
Friends in all kinds of places
Friday February 14, 2025/16 Sh'vat 5785 Parashat Yitro Friends/Hevre, Driving back to New York from Montreal this past Tuesday I did...
Don't Just Pray. Do Something.
Friday February 7, 2025/9 Sh'vat 5785 Parashat B'Shalach/Shabbat Shirah Friends/Hevre, It’s a tense moment when this week’s portion,...
Spiritual Alchemy
Friday January 31, 2025/2 Sh'vat 5785 Parashat Bo Friends/Hevre, Yesterday we welcomed the new month of Sh'vat during which we'll mark...
These are the names...
Friday January 24, 2025/24 Tevet 5785 Parashat Vaera Friends/Hevre, Emily Damari. Romi Gonen. Doron Steinbrecher. Names seared into our...
And the bush was not consumed...
Friday January 17, 2025/17 Tevet 5785 Parashat Shemot Friends/Hevre, Could it really be happening? Could the hostages finally be coming...
“Be whomever you will be, and may you be blessed in all you become.”
Friday January 10, 2025/10 Tevet 5785 Parashat Vayechi Hevre/Friends, In this week’s final portion of the Book of Genesis, as Jacob nears...
The First Light is the Brightest
Friday December 27, 2024/26 Kislev 5785 Parashat Miketz/Shabbat Hanukkah Hevre/Friends, On the first night of Hanukkah about 75...
How do you know when it's morning?
Friday December 20, 2024/19 Kislev 5785 Parashat Vayeshev וַיֹּ֕אמֶר-- אֶת־אַחַ֖י אָנֹכִ֣י מְבַקֵּ֑שׁ [J oseph] answered, I am looking...
"Let it snow, let your winter dreams grow." (from Winter Dreams)
Friday December 13, 2024/12 Kislev 5785 Parashat Vayetze Hevre/Friends, This time next week Andi and I will be back in the Laurentians...
Leaving Home to Come Home
Friday December 6, 2024/5 Kislev 5785 Parashat Vayetze Hevre/Friends, When people ask about my experience growing up in the Orthodox...
Continuity is about more than replication
Friday November 22, 2024/21 H eshvan 5785 Parashat Chaye Sarah Hevre/Friends, The most dramatic story in parashat Chaye Sarah is the one...
My Gratitude Teacher
It sounds so simple: be grateful for all we have. And yet, there are times when it’s just really hard to feel it.
My daughter, My Teacher
Yesterday over coffee after a grueling exercise class, I got a loving but firm lecture from my daughter (when did those tables turn?).
Broken-Hearted Politics
Friday November 8, 2024/7 H eshvan 5785 Parashat Lech Lecha Hevre/Friends, In his 2005 essay on holding together the tensions of...
Maybe Politics Should Take a Page Out of Religion
Friday November 1, 2024/Rosh Chodesh H eshvan Parashat Noa h Hevre/Friends, This past Wednesday in my Contemporary Halakhah (Jewish Law)...
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