Move Your Body, Strengthen Your Soul
There was a time in my life where I had a lot of trouble sleeping.
Spain to Sephardic Jews: “Sorry, Please Come Home” - But Will They?
The expulsion of the Jews from Spain on July 31, 1492, occurred on the same day as the destruction of the first and second Jerusalem Temples.
Why is the Mi Shebeirach So Meaningful?
The Mi Shebeirach, a Jewish prayer for healing, has been set to music by several contemporary Jewish musicians, including the late Debbie Friedman.
Cancer Obscura: A Book Review
If a feel-good book about cancer sounds like an oxymoron, just pick up a copy of New Beginnings: The Triumphs of 120 Cancer Survivors by Bill Aron (Skyhorse Publishing), a tour de force fr
Should We Feast or Fast During 4th of July Weekend?
On this holiday weekend, due to a confluence of special days — Independence Day, the 17th of Tammuz and Shabbat — American Jews will have the opportunity to both celebrate our religious freedom and retrace what we did when it was threatened.
The United Nations: It’s Still a Bastion of Anti-Semitism
I wrote a paper for graduate school in 2009 titled “The United Nations: A Bastion of Anti-Semitism,” which described, in some detail, instances of anti-Semitism perpetrated by the United Nations against Israel since the country’s founding.
Galilee Diary: Free to Be You and Me
Rabbi Huna in the name of Bar Kappara said that Israel deserved to be redeemed from Egypt for four reasons: They never changed their names, they never changed their language, they never engaged in gossip, and they never engaged in sexual immorality.
Tishah B'Av: What's in a Name?
William Shakespeare wrote in Romeo and Juliet, “What’s in a name?” The holiday of Tishah B’Av, which literally translates to the “Ninth of (the month of) Av” is so named to remember the destruction of the ancient temples in Jerusalem (in 586 BCE and 70 CE) said to have occurred on that day.
Lamentations, Racial Biases, and the Confederate Flag: A South Carolina Rabbi's Perspectives
What do we read when there are no good words? As I thought about the text to teach following the tragedy at Mother Emanuel Church in Charleston, my mind fixed on the nine murdered. Murdered in their church, a holy sanctuary of God.
How a 94-Year-Old Jewish Woman’s Friendship with German Students Changed Them All
My wife Vickie and I were thrilled to learn that our German friends, Pastor Ursula Sieg and her husband Pastor Martin Pommerening, were coming to visit us in America.