From Our Rabbis

Holiday Celebrations While Grieving

By Rabbi Renée Bauer

We are approaching a season in American life of holiday celebrations. Next week brings Thanksgiving, and Hanukkah follows very soon in its footsteps. For many, the war in the Middle East weighs heavily as we plan for our holidays. For some, the upcoming celebrations ca…

Bringing A Bit of Comfort and Order in the Midst of Chaos

By Rabbi Betsy Forester

When our community rabbis were invited to choose a date to share words of Torah leading into, through, and out of the High Holy Days, I happily chose to write to you this week, following Sukkot and Simchat Torah. I was eager to share how our joy at Sukkot and rejoici…

Creating a New World

By Rabbi Avremel Matusof

“If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it.” I appreciate the value in such caution, and often go along with this line of thinking, but Judaism demands we should be bolder than those who try fixing unbroken stuff.

On Simchat Torah (celebrated this year on October 7…

Opportunities for Meaningful Action

By Rabbi Bonnie Margulis

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

September 29 begins the festival of Sukkot. It is tradition to read the book of Ecclesiastes during the festival. A refrain throughout the book is the thought that …

We Are All Part of the One Jewish People

By Rabbi Yona Matusof

This year is the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War. As millions prayed in synagogues, the Egyptian and Syrian armies surprised the Israelis with attacks on two fronts.

On the west bank of the Suez Canal, the Egyptians had 100,000 soldiers, 1,350 tanks, and 2,000 …