by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 22, 2023 | Ruth, Shavuot (Pentecost)
By Rabbi Tuly Weisz Every year, the Jewish people read the Book of Ruth on the holiday of Shavuot (Pentecost), which falls out towards the end of May or early June. Shavuot is one of the three central pilgrimage festivals, and is the day when the Jewish people...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 21, 2023 | Ruth, Redemption
By Rabbi Elie Mischel Though the Book of Ruth is a personal story describing tragic and heroic individuals, it is a personal story with national implications. The extraordinary kindness that Ruth, Boaz and Naomi show to one another leads to the union of Ruth and Boaz...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 21, 2023 | Judges
By Rabbi Elie Mischel “Awake, awake, O Zion! Clothe yourself in splendor; put on your robes of majesty, Jerusalem, holy city! For the uncircumcised and the unclean shall never enter you again” (Isaiah 52:1). In the Bible, horrific events are almost inevitably...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 21, 2023 | Psalms, Prayer
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz There is an urban myth that Eskimos have 50 words for snow. I don’t know if that is true, but I do know that there are a lot of different words in Hebrew used to describe the same spiritual thing. For exmaple, there are seven names for God in...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 20, 2023 | Judges
By Rabbi Elie Mischel “It’s time for Americans to wake up to a fundamental reality: the continued unity of the United States of America cannot be guaranteed. At this moment in history, there is not a single important cultural, religious, political, or social force...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 20, 2023 | Psalms, Tests and Trials
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz I hate tests. I never understood the point of throwing a difficult problem at someone in order to see what they know or what they can do. As a teacher, I preferred to sit down with my student and discuss the material. In that manner, I...
