May 29, 2026/13 Sivan 5786/Shabbat Naso Hevre/Friends, Whenever we have new guests at our Shabbat table, a question inevitably arises about the unusual shape of our family kiddush cup. (Cue the eye-rolling from our children, who have heard this story more times than they care to count.) A typical kiddush cup is cylindrical, requiring your fingers to curl around it as you lift and pass it for each person to sip. Ours — pictured below — is shaped more like a saucer, or a classi

Shavuot 2026/5786 Hevre/Friends, If you're following me on Instagram — and I really hope you are! — you'll have seen my two videos exploring why the Torah was given on a mountaintop rather than in a lush valley, or on the shores of a beautiful lake or sea. In them, I talked about the hard work of searching for the insights and wisdom, the truths and values that give our lives meaning and purpose — and how that search so often feels like an upward climb. About the courage we n

Friday May 15 2026/28 Iyyar 5786 Hevre/Friends, I read it. I panicked. I searched frantically for clarification. I fumed. I cried. The accusations of systematic rape and sexual abuse — including the use of dogs — in Israeli prisons, published in a New York Times Op-Ed by Nicholas Kristof this past Monday, were shocking, disorienting, and horrifying. Coupled with growing global — and Jewish — outrage over the violent actions of Hilltop Youth settlers against Palestinians

Friday May 8 2026/21 Iyyar 5786 Hevre/Friends/Amici, Of all the things I wish I could have packed for our Rabbi on the Road journey to Sicily and Calabria, it is our innocence I missed most—the days of wandering Italy concerned only with where to find our next gelato once the pasta had settled. Our travels were filled with breathtaking vistas, charming towns, extraordinary meals, deep conversation, daily learning, spirited Shabbat prayer, abundant laughter, and genuine ca

Friday May 1, 2026/14 Iyyar 5786 Hevre/Friends/Amici, Ciao dalla Sicilia! Hello from Sicily! Our Rabbi on the Road adventure has been filled with stunning landscapes, fascinating sites, and—let’s be honest—way too much gelato. Actually, there’s no such thing as too much gelato… Our group of 27 travelers and 4 staff is exploring Sicily through Jewish eyes, immersing ourselves in travel as a spiritual practice. After all, travel is a deeply authentic Jewish act. As Diane Ti

Wednesday April 17, 2026/Rosh Chodesh Iyyar Hevre/Friends, What an extraordinary week it’s been. As I put the finishing touches on my teaching notes for our Rabbi on the Road journey to Sicily and Calabria—Andi and I set out for Italy next Monday—I found myself holding a sense of anticipation and excitement. And yet, as life so often reminds us, joy rarely arrives unaccompanied. That sense of anticipation was tempered by the deaths of two individuals who I’m grateful to ha

Wednesday April 10, 2026/23 Nisan 5786 Hevre/Friends, Everyone is talking about it: the Overview Effect. Author Frank White coined the phrase after interviewing several astronauts about the experience of seeing Earth from space. Against the vastness of the universe, they felt an overwhelming, life-changing sense of awe, oneness with humanity, and a humbling awareness of our planet’s beauty and fragility. In recent days, we’ve heard echoes of the Overview Effect as the astrona

Wednesday April 1, 2026/14 Nisan 5786/Pesach וְ הַלֻּחֹת מַעֲשֵׂה אֱלֹהִים הֵמָּה וְהַמִּכְתָּב מִכְתַּב אֱלֹהִים הוּא חָרוּת עַל הַלֻּחֹת, אַל תִּקְרָא חָרוּת אֶלָּא חֵרוּת, שֶׁאֵין לְךָ בֶן חוֹרִין אֶלָּא מִי שֶׁעוֹסֵק בְּתַלְמוּד תּוֹרָה. “The tablets were God’s work, and the writing was God’s writing, incised upon the tablets” ( Exod. 32:17 ). Do not read, “incised,” (harut), rather [read] “freedom” (herut)—for no person is truly free except the one who labors in Torah. (

Friday March 27, 2026/9 Nisan 5786/Shabbat Tzav Shabbat Hagadol Friends/Hevre, Thanks for pausing from your Pesach prep to share a moment of reflection with me as the holiday fast approaches and the paradox of this yomtov intensifies. How are we to celebrate our festival of freedom when we’re not feeling free? Millions of Israelis are still racing to shelters and figuring out how to bring their matzah balls and charoset with them should a siren interrupt their Seders. Jewish

Friday March 20, 2026/2 Nisan Adar 5786/Shabbat Vayikra אָדָ֗ם כִּֽי־יַקְרִ֥יב מִכֶּ֛ם קרְבָּ֖ן לַֽיהֹוָ֑ה מִן־הַבְּהֵמָ֗ה מִן־הַבָּקָר֙ וּמִן־הַצֹּ֔אן תַּקְרִ֖יבוּ אֶת־קרְבַּנְכֶֽם׃ When any of you presents an animal offering to God you shall choose your offering from the herd or from the flock. (Lev. 1:2) Hevre/Friends, “People are animals.” Impulsive. Volatile. Greedy. Power hungry. Violent. Who says so? Everyone. About everyone else. Sometimes legitimately. Sometimes

Friday March 13, 2026/24 Adar 5786/Shabbat Vayakhel-Pekudei Shabbat HaChodesh Hevre/Friends, Week after week, our ancient Torah narratives never fail to educate and inspire us as we navigate our modern world. Reeling from multiple violent attacks against North American Jewish communal institutions this last week makes the reflection prompted by this week’s double portion of Vayakhel-Pekudei truly haunting. In the spirit of this continuous revelation, I can’t help but imagine

Friday March 6, 2026/17 Adar/Shabbat Ki Tisa Shabbat Parah וַיַּ֣רְא הָעָ֔ם כִּֽי־בֹשֵׁ֥שׁ מֹשֶׁ֖ה לָרֶ֣דֶת מִן־הָהָ֑ר וַיִּקָּהֵ֨ל הָעָ֜ם עַֽל־אַהֲרֹ֗ן וַיֹּאמְר֤וּ אֵלָיו֙ ק֣וּם ׀ עֲשֵׂה־לָ֣נוּ אֱלֹהִ֗ים אֲשֶׁ֤ר יֵֽלְכוּ֙ לְפָנֵ֔ינוּ כִּי־זֶ֣ה ׀ מֹשֶׁ֣ה הָאִ֗ישׁ אֲשֶׁ֤ר הֶֽעֱלָ֙נוּ֙ מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֔יִם לֹ֥א יָדַ֖עְנוּ מֶה־הָ֥יָה לֽוֹ׃ When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, the people gathered against Aaron and said to him, “Come, make u

“Forgetfulness leads to exile. Remembrance leads to redemption.” (Ba’al Shem Tov) Hevre/Friends, Shabbat Zachor. Time to remember the savage Amalekites who attacked us in the desert. To blot out their evil presence and power from the world. A biblical commandment for every Jew to hear and heed. Read just days before Purim when we retell the story of Esther and our people in ancient Persia (modern-day Iran) and the vicious Haman - a descendant of Amalek - who tried to destroy

Friday February 20, 2026/3 Adar 5786/Parashat Terumah Hevre/Friends, We’ve all had one. A flash of insight or discovery that brings us much-needed perspective; a revelation or epiphany that solves a serious, even existential, riddle with which we’ve been wrestling. “Aha” moments can happen anywhere, not only atop Mount Sinai where Moses is sitting right now in our Torah reading cycle - although, as a hiker, I agree that summit views can be revelatory. Years ago my yoga teach

Friday February 13, 2026/26 Sh'vat 5786/Parashat Mishpatim-Shabbat Shekalim Hevre/Friends, My daughter Nomi and I came to Costa Rica to celebrate her 25th birthday with four days in the jungle and the balance at a yoga resort. The precious days we’ve had together have gifted us so many opportunities for deep mother-daughter conversation and sharing; something we, thankfully, enjoy regularly with each other. But being away from the busy-ness of life and today’s chaotic world

Friday February 6, 2026/19 Sh'vat 5786/Parashat Yitro Hevre/Friends, In a world wracked by so much chaos of so many kinds, we ache for leaders. Moral, political, spiritual leaders on whom we can depend; who steady our fear and anxiousness with dignity, with courage and competence; who bring us hope. We look outside ourselves for clarity and direction. But there’s somewhere else we ought to look first. One of the most meaningful pieces of Torah from the late Rabbi Jonathan Sac

Friday January 30, 2026/12 Sh'vat 5786/Parashat B'Shalach Shabbat Shirah Hevre/Friends, What a week. An emotional rollercoaster. Ran Gvili, z”l, was finally brought home from Gaza for burial. Closure for the hostages. Relief for us all. Ongoing heartbreak for the devastation of October 7, as the families whose lives were shattered keep searching for how to carry their burdens. (Read Rachel Goldberg Polin’s aching essay this week here .) Chaos, shootings, and the killing o

Friday January 23, 2026/5 Sh'vat 5786/Shabbat Bo וּ לְמַ֡עַן תְּסַפֵּר֩ בְּאזְנֵ֨י בִנְךָ֜ וּבֶן־בִּנְךָ֗ אֵ֣ת אֲשֶׁ֤ר הִתְעַלַּ֙לְתִּי֙ בְּמִצְרַ֔יִם וְאֶת־אֹתֹתַ֖י אֲשֶׁר־שַׂ֣מְתִּי בָ֑ם וִֽידַעְתֶּ֖ם כִּי־אֲנִ֥י יְהֹוָֽה׃ So that you speak into the ears of your children and grandchildren and tell them how I made a mockery of the Egyptians and how I displayed My signs among them—in order that you may know that I am God. (Parshat Bo, Shemot 10:2) Hevre/Friends, We each prob

Friday January 16, 2026/27 Tevet 5786/Shabbat Vaera וַיְדַבֵּ֣ר מֹשֶׁ֔ה לִפְנֵ֥י יְהֹוָ֖ה לֵאמֹ֑ר הֵ֤ן בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ לֹֽא־שָׁמְע֣וּ אֵלַ֔י וְאֵיךְ֙ יִשְׁמָעֵ֣נִי פַרְעֹ֔ה וַאֲנִ֖י עֲרַ֥ל שְׂפָתָֽיִם׃ But Moses appealed to יהוה, saying, “The Israelites would not listen to me; how then should Pharaoh heed me, me—who gets tongue-tied!” (Parshat Vaera, Exodus 6:12) Hevre/Friends, My mother-in-law, Mavis, z”l, was one of the sweetest, funniest, people I knew. And also one

Friday January 9, 2026/20 Tevet 5786/Shabbat Shemot וְאֵ֗לֶּה שְׁמוֹת֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל הַבָּאִ֖ים מִצְרָ֑יְמָה אֵ֣ת יַעֲקֹ֔ב אִ֥ישׁ וּבֵית֖וֹ בָּֽאוּ׃ These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob, each coming with his household (Shemot 1:1) Hevre/Friends, One day after last week’s Shabbat message about grandparents, my sister Malka and brother-in-law Elan welcomed their 5th grandchild - my mother’s 7th great-grandchild - into their growing family

Friday January 2, 2026/13 Tevet 5786/Shabbat Vayechi וְעַתָּ֡ה שְׁנֵֽי־בָנֶ֩יךָ֩ הַנּוֹלָדִ֨ים לְךָ֜ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֗יִם עַד־בֹּאִ֥י אֵלֶ֛יךָ מִצְרַ֖יְמָה לִי־הֵ֑ם אֶפְרַ֙יִם֙ וּמְנַשֶּׁ֔ה כִּרְאוּבֵ֥ן וְשִׁמְע֖וֹן יִֽהְיוּ־לִֽי׃ Now, your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, shall be mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine no less than Reuben and Simeon. (Genesis 48:5) Hevre/Friends, As the youngest of four very close siblings

Friday December 26, 2025/6 Tevet 5786/Shabbat Vayigash אֲנִ֣י יוֹסֵ֔ף…אֲנִי֙ יוֹסֵ֣ף אֲחִיכֶ֔ם…כִּי־פִ֖י הַֽמְדַבֵּ֥ר אֲלֵיכֶֽם I am Joseph…I am Joseph your brother…it is my mouth that speaks to you (Bereshit 45: 3-12) Hevre/Friends, While backpacking in China in the summer of 1988, my friend Paula and I found ourselves in a hotel lobby in Nanjing. No sooner had we entered when the manager, a Chinese man, made a beeline for us. With great excitement, and to our great surprise

Friday December 19, 2025/29 Kislev 5786/Shabbat Hanukkah Hevre/Friends, 15 people murdered. More than 40 injured. The losses of love, friendships, community are impossible to quantify. But there’s another loss from the Sydney terrorist attack that’s even harder to assess. The images are so incongruous: in Sydney, a man rushes to tackle the shooter, wresting the gun from his hands and neutralizing him. With his white shirt and black slacks, the hero might have easily been c

Friday December 12, 2025/22 Kislev 5786/Shabbat Vayeshev וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֖ים יְהִ֣י א֑וֹר וַֽיְהִי־אֽוֹר God said, “Let there be light”, and there was light (Genesis 1:3) Hevre/Friends, For the second time in less than three months, Andi and I will be celebrating the marriage of one of our children this weekend as her daughter, Tamar, weds her beloved - and ours - Eitan. Sunday afternoon’s wedding is taking place on the eve of Hanukkah which is Tamar’s Hebrew birthday, hence

Friday December 5, 2025/15 Kislev 5786/Shabbat Vayishlach הָסִ֜רוּ אֶת־אֱלֹהֵ֤י הַנֵּכָר֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר בְּתֹֽכְכֶ֔ם וְהִטַּֽהֲר֔וּ וְהַֽחֲלִ֖יפוּ שִׂמְלֹֽתֵיכֶֽם: Remove the idols you took as spoil from the non-Jews in Shechem and that are now in your possession; ritually purify yourselves; and change your clothes. (Genesis 35:2) Hevre/Friends, Fall is always a special time in New York: crisp air and paths of burnt-orange leaves make for invigorating walks through Central Park; sm

Friday November 28, 2025/8 Kislev 5786/Shabbat Vayetze Hevre/Friends, Waking up the Friday morning after Thanksgiving to the smells of soup, roasting vegetables and chicken might make someone feel like they’re in the movie Groundhog Day, but for many of us it could not be more normal. After all, it’s Shabbat in a few hours and dinner has to be made. I mean, leftovers might only go so far, at least in our family! As per our weekly routine, Andi and I put on our favourite Frida

Friday November 21, 2025/Rosh Chodesh Kislev 5786/Shabbat Toldot וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יַעֲקֹ֜ב אֶל־אָבִ֗יו אָנֹכִי֙ עֵשָׂ֣ו בְּכֹרֶ֔ךָ Jacob said to his father, “I am Esav, your first-born.” Hevre/Friends, Cringeworthy. That’s the only word for some of the Torah’s disturbing scenes of our ancestors behaving badly: Sarah insisting Abraham banish Hagar and Ishmael to the desert; God commanding Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, and Abraham listening; and this week, at the insistence of his mot

Friday November 14, 2025/23 Cheshvan 5786/Shabbat Chaye Sarah In Memory of Dr. Stephen Diamond, z"l Hevre/Friends, Yesterday I had the privilege of presiding over the funeral of a man I didn’t know but from whom I learned a great deal. He wasn’t a public figure or social activist, but he taught me valuable lessons about how to exercise my personal agency to help heal the rifts of our time. Almost every one of the eulogies shared by Steve Diamond's family stressed that amo

Friday November 7, 2025/ 16 Cheshvan 5786/Shabbat Vayera Hevre/Friends, Did I make the right decision? Should I have made another choice? What if I was wrong about him? What if I was right about him? No, I’m not talking about the NYC mayoral election. I’m talking about Avraham in the Akedah/Binding of Isaac story from this week’s Torah portion. But on some level I actually am talking about the election. Most of the classical commentators read details of the story such

Friday October 31, 2025/ 9 Cheshvan 5786/Shabbat Lech Lecha וַיִּשָּׂא־ל֣וֹט אֶת־עֵינָ֗יו וַיַּרְא֙ אֶת־כּל־כִּכַּ֣ר הַיַּרְדֵּ֔ן כִּ֥י כֻלָּ֖הּ מַשְׁקֶ֑ה - לִפְנֵ֣י ׀ שַׁחֵ֣ת יְהֹוָ֗ה אֶת־סְדֹם֙ וְאֶת־עֲמֹרָ֔ה - כְּגַן־יְהֹוָה֙ כְּאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֔יִם בֹּאֲכָ֖ה צֹֽעַר׃ Lot looked about him and saw how well watered was the whole plain of the Jordan, all of it— this was before יהוה had destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah —all the way to Zoar, like the garden of יהוה, like the land of E

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

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

Friday October 10, 2025/ 18 Tishrei 5786/Sukkot Hevre/Friends, Could it really be that tonight will be the last Shabbat on which we...

Friday September 19, 2025/ 26 Elul 5785/Parshat Nitzavim Hevre/Friends, What motivates someone to make change? Is it a sense of urgency,...

Friday September 12, 2025/ 19 Elul 5785/Parshat Ki Tavo Hevre/Friends, My close friend and master Jewish educator, the late Rachel...

Friday September 5, 2025/ 12 Elul 5785/Parshat Ki Tetze Hevre/Friends, Most of us think of the work of repentance as intensely private...

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,...

Friday August 22, 2025/ 28 Av 5785/Parshat Re'eh Hevre/Friends, Last night, 25 of us gathered to watch the documentary, “October 8”,...

Friday August 15, 2025/ 21 Av 5785/Parshat Ekev וְ הָיָ֣ה  עֵ֣קֶב תִּשְׁמְע֗וּן אֵ֤ת הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים֙ הָאֵ֔לֶּה And if you do listen to...

Friday August 8, 2025/ 14 Av 5785/Parshat Va'Etchanan/Shabbat Nachamu/Tu B'Av Hevre/Friends, Nederland, Colorado, is a gateway town to...

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...

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...

Friday July 18, 2025/ 22 Tamuz 5785/Parashat Pinchas Hevre/Friends, I'm wiped. The news coming from Israel as well as from other...

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,...

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...

Friday June 27, 2025/ Rosh Chodesh Tamuz 5785/Parashat Korach Hevre/Friends, After our fascinating and meaningful (and fun!) Rabbi on...

Friday June 20, 2025/24 Sivan 5785/Parashat Sh'lach Lecha Hevre/Friends, “Hola” from Basque Country where we are entering the final two...

Friday June 13, 2025/17 Sivan 5785/Parashat Beha'alotekha דַּבֵּר֙ אֶֽל־אַהֲרֹ֔ן וְאָמַרְתָּ֖ אֵלָ֑יו בְּהַעֲלֹֽתְךָ֙ אֶת־הַנֵּרֹ֔ת...

Friday June 6, 2025/10 Sivan 5785/Parashat Naso Hevre/Friends, Our departure for Rabbi on the Road 2025: Basque Country is just days...

Friday May 30, 2025/3 Sivan 5785/Parashat Bamidbar שְׂא֗וּ אֶת־רֹאשׁ֙ כּל־עֲדַ֣ת בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֖ם לְבֵ֣ית אֲבֹתָ֑ם...