Hours ago there was an atrocious attack at Parliament that left several people dead and many more injured. Tonight, our thoughts are with everyone who was directly affected by these attacks. At the time that I am writing this,...

For those of us who are American, November means one thing.  Thanksgiving.  While it is entirely an American holiday, it was inspired by the Jewish festival of Sukkot—the autumn harvest festival.  For those who like a little Hebrew word...

The two High Holy Days, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, are linked.  On Rosh Hashanah, we celebrate Creation and on Yom Kippur, we forgive and ask for forgiveness.  These seemingly different themes are actually very well matched because forgiveness...

  The Hebrew month of Av, a time of many of the worst tragedies in Jewish history, begins this year on 4 August.  Tradition teaches that on the first day of Av, Aaron, the first Israelite High Priest and...

For a long time, a great many Reform Jews dismissed kashrut, Jewish dietary laws, entirely.  Some Reform Jews referred to kashrut dismissively as “kitchen Judaism” and compared it unfavourably to “prophetic Judaism,” a Judaism primarily concerned with ethical behaviour. ...

Dear Friends, I am writing to you from Cincinnati, Ohio where Jodi and I are spending time with her family. As we were preparing for Shabbat, we heard about the awful attacks in Paris. Before the news came, we...

Shalom chaverim, We’ve been very busy here in Israel.  The learning, as always, has been wonderful.  My chevruta partner this morning was the Reform movement’s Chief (only) rabbi of New Zealand.  I’ll be sharing much of what I learned...