Sixty nine years ago, in 1954, I was elected by my high school class to give the address for the class at our graduation ceremony. That was a mere nine […]

A story from the Talmud (Shabbat 127b): There once was a worker who had just completed a very large project for a certain homeowner. On the eve of Yom Kippur, […]

In the Talmud – the text of our ancient sages’ interpretation of Torah—Rabbi Gamliel tells a story: “Picture it. I am traveling on a ship. In stormy waters, from a […]

In an email, from me to Rabbi Freedman: “Hi Eli – Can you roll the Torah scroll to the correct spot for tomorrow?  Thanks—Jill” In an email response, from Rabbi […]

Ein Li Eretz Acheret/I Have No Other Country. These words were emblazoned on the side of a building as we drove up the Ayalon Freeway in Tel Aviv on our […]

Yom Kippur address delivered by RS President Michael Hauptman on October 9, 2019. In 1810, four men, who for 15 years had been part of an informal minyan, met in […]

Yom Kippur Address delivered by RS President Michael Hauptman on September 19, 2018.  There’s a story in the Talmud about an old man planting a fruit tree by the side […]

Or zarua latzadik / Light is sown for the righteous**, words we just sang as the introduction to Kol Nidrei. This Yom Kippur, we search for the light of righteousness […]

Yom Kippur Address delivered by RS President Michael Hauptman on September 30, 2017. Language has always been an interest of mine; how language evolves, where words come from and how […]

It sounds like a classic nightmare. I wake up late and rush to class, only to find that we have an exam for which I had totally forgotten to study. […]