This week’s Torah portion, Ki Teitzei, contains quite a few seemingly random, disconnected commandments. One especially striking commandment found in this week’s portion is: If you happen to come upon a bird’s nest along the way, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, and the...
Picture the scene: The Israelites have been wandering for 40 years in the desert and are finally on the banks of the Jordan river just mere miles from the Holy Land. Moses, knowing that his time as their leader is coming to end, offers one final speech to his people....
One woman and her reticent seven year old child came in because she saw the chalk and balloons from the street. We invited her in, and gave her daughter a meal, and after she devoured a bagel, we gave her more. The way they ate said they hadn’t eaten in...
Have you ever seen the hashtag #firstworldproblems? A simple google search brings up some great ones like: The struggle of finding storage for 20 bottles of champagne #firstworldproblems I got really tan this weekend and now my concealer is too light!!! My dog won’t eat that chip I dropped, so...
Have you ever gotten one of those emails that said something like, “A Nigerian prince wants to send you $10,000 dollars; just send your bank account information and social security number…” About 6 weeks ago, we got a call to the office here at RS that Sheikh Abdullah bin Bayyah...
More than 1 in 8 Americans struggles with hunger; and many in our own neighborhood. I recently heard a story from Principal Laureal Robinson at Spring Garden Elementary about a student who was putting some of her free school breakfasts and lunches in her backpack to take home because her...
Maybe you’ve heard this one: The Chief Rabbi of Israel and the Pope are in a meeting in Rome. The Rabbi notices an unusually fancy phone in the Pope’s private chambers.”What is that phone for?” he asks the pontiff. “It’s my direct line to God!” The Holy Father insists that the...
It was a few days before our Berman Mercaz Limud model seder. As I was heading home for the day, I said to Rabbi Maderer in passing, “I’m off to boil six dozen eggs or so.” She looked at me incredulously, “Why exactly are you boiling all those eggs?” I...
Shabbat with Renowned Composer & Musician, Noah Aronson, on Friday, December 2 @ 6pm Sponsored by the Miles Jellinek Memorial Fund “Noah Aronson performs with joy, passion and a rich musicality that connects with audiences, heart-to-heart and soul-to-soul”(Anita Diamant) We are priviledged to have the extrememly talented composer and vocalist,...
I’m sick and tired of all this sin and repentance stuff! I know, it’s only Erev Rosh Hashanah, we haven’t even gotten to Yom Kippur yet. But every year, it’s the same thing: Al chet shechatanu lifanecha… For the sins I committed against you… Ashamnu, bagadnu, gazalnu… We betray, we...