“Better a piece of dry bread and tranquility with it, than a house full of feasting with strife.” (Proverbs 17:1) “If your wife is short, bend over to hear her whisper.” (Talmud, Bava M’tzia 59a) – Mishkan HaNefesh, Yom Kippur, pg. 402-403 These texts speak about the Jewish concept of...
There’s an old expression from the great city of Chicago – vote early and vote often. The first part of the saying is good advice. We actually have a similar idea in Judaism. We should be so excited to do a mitzvah that we do it first thing – early...
I have an embarrassing secret. I love BuzzFeed. For those that don’t know, BuzzFeed is the website that brings us amazing articles like, “17 Nail Art Designs Perfect For Earth Day,” “Are You More Like Woody Or Buzz Lightyear?” and “15 Texts You Send To Your Mom Vs. Your Best...
A few months ago I received a very exciting email from the director of the Jewish museum in Munich. Apparently he was searching the internet for “Jews and Beer” and my name came up! No, this is not just because I like beer so much, but because there are actually...
The Super Bowl was the number one watched program of all time in the US with almost 115 million viewers. Now this may be because you wanted to watch the ads or the halftime show with Katy Perry, but I would guess, that like me, many of you are football...
I imagine many of you are familiar with the traditional story of Thanksgiving that you learned about in kindergarten where, in 1621, the Pilgrims and Wampanoag people came together to give thanks and share a meal. However, not many of you may be aware of the events that led to...
From Tel Aviv to Ramallah: A Beatbox Journey Amir, aka DJ Goa, is a Tel Aviv sensation who spins at a weekly event at Club Aviv. After finishing his army service in a combat unit, Amir spent nine months working at a café and collecting records in New York. He...
“Give ear O heaven… let the earth hear the words…” In this week’s Torah portion, Ha’azinu, Moses calls upon heaven and earth to witness this important moment in Jewish history. According to commentators the use of heaven and earth as witnesses is common in near eastern literature and forms what...
On the cusp of the 19th century, in a shtetl in Western Ukraine, Feiga and Simcha were celebrating the birth of their son, Nachman. Nachman was named after his grandfather, a great rabbi and a disciple of the Ba’al Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidic Judaism. At his bris, Feiga...
Today, as you count the Omer, think about the traditional Jewish idea of redemption (geulah) and how it applies in the world today. The 7th blessing of the amidah/t’fillah on weekdays asks God to redeem the captives among our people. Check out this great interview from the Colbert Report about how we can...
