Rabbi's Message

Last week, we began the book of Shemot.  The story begins with a new Pharaoh in power; one who “did not know Joseph.” He looks at the Israelites, immigrants who helped build the nation, and suddenly decides they are a threat. They are too numerous. Too different. Fear becomes policy. 

Pharaoh does not begin with violence. He begins with language: suspicion,...Read more...

Hello from Israel, where we are now in week two of our 10th and 11th grade trip. This week we read Parashat Vayehi, the final Torah portion of the Book of Bereishit. Jacob, nearing the end of his life, gathers his children and offers them blessings. He understands something essential: the story does not end with him. It continues through the next generation.

This truth came alive...Read more...

This week, my deployment took me on an unexpected and deeply meaningful journey. I flew to Jordan, and from there traveled by military convoy into Syria to provide religious support to two members of our extended Jewish world: a Jewish Soldier deployed from the Iowa National Guard and a civilian contractor that is Jewish & whose life story reflects the extraordinary diversity of this region for he is fluent in...Read more...

It’s almost Hanukkah! On Sunday night we will light the first candle and begin our celebration of the holiday. We have a number of opportunities to celebrate together at TBS that you can see below, I hope you will join us! 

Hanukkah is also called Hag Urim – the Festival of Lights. In the darkest time of the year, when the days are the shortest, we light candles to illuminate our homes. There is a powerful...Read more...

Despite the many challenges we face, there is still much that we are thankful for this year. Something that we are most thankful for is you. Each of you is an important member of our TBS Family, and we are so grateful for the strength and resilience of our community that brings us all of us comfort and purpose today and every day. When you sit down at your Thanksgiving tables, we encourage to read this prayer for Thanksgiving...Read more...

This week’s Torah portion, Hayei Sarah, opens with loss: Sarah dies, and Abraham must honor her memory while securing the future. On the surface, the story is about death, but its true message is about sustaining life with dignity.

Abraham insists on purchasing the Cave of Machpelah at full price, conducting the transaction with care and transparency. His insistence is not only about...Read more...

Did I mention that the airport has a very different look? 

For the last two years posters of the hostages have lined the arrival corridor. They are gone. It looks the way it did before October 7, 2023. But October 7th still haunts Israel. Three more bodies were returned today, including that of Omer Neutra z’l, who is from NY (Rabbi Joel Levenson’s congregation). His loss is mourned in Israel and the...Read more...

After 738 days of waiting, praying, advocating, and holding our collective breath — they are home.

All living hostages are now home in Israel.

Before we turn our attention fully to their return, we must first recognize that the bodies of 19 slain hostages still remain in Gaza — 19 families still waiting for closure. Nineteen souls still waiting to come home. Please God, may they soon be brought back to Israel so that they...Read more...

Each night, we pray ufros aleinu sukkat shelomekha, that God spread over us, a Sukkah of peace.  I haven’t been able to stop thinking of this prayer this week, as I sit in my own Sukkah and anxiously await the implementation of the deal that will bring the 48 hostages home and end the war in Gaza.  On October 7, the first day of Sukkot, we reflected on the last two years and all of the pain and joy that we have been holding....Read more...

It was wonderful to have the whole TBS mishpaha together on Rosh Hashanah, in person and online.  We are looking forward to being together again on Yom Kippur next week.  These days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are known as the Aseret Yemai Teshuvah – the 10 Days of Repentance, and this first Shabbat of the new year is known as Shabbat Shuvah, the Shabbat of Return.  It is a time to reflect on our lives and to...Read more...

Twenty-four years ago today, I was studying in a beit midrash in Manhattan.  Thankfully, we were in Morningside Heights, far away from the towers, on September 11, 2001.  Still, I will never forget the shock, confusion, and panic on that day, as well as the smell of destruction, posters of the missing, and the shiva I attended for a friend’s father in the days after.  It was a terrible day where we were caught off guard...Read more...

Today, we mourn the killing of two children and the wounding of seventeen others at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis yesterday.  This most recent tragedy of the all too frequent incidents of gun violence in our country, senseless shootings that leave families bereft and communities broken, hit home for me.  First, because, again, this shooting happened at a religious institution while people were at prayer.  And...Read more...

Judaism celebrates infusing behavior with meaning. The performance of daily mitzvot imbues routine behavior with the sacred. By transforming a deed into a mitzvah, we deepen its history and enrich its meaning. This kind of transformation is beautifully exemplified in this week’s Torah portion, Ekev. This week, we read in the Torah that after a meal, “when you have eaten your fill, give thanks to the Lord your God for the good land...Read more...

This Saturday night and Sunday is Tisha B’Av, the ninth day of the month of Av, the saddest day in the Jewish calendar.  On Tisha B’Av we mourn the destruction of the First and Second Temples, as well as countless other tragedies throughout Jewish history, reflecting on times when our community was fractured by exile, hatred, and division. The central lesson that emerges is the dangers of sinat hinam—baseless hatred—that...Read more...

Dear TBS Family,

Shortly after the war with Iran began, my rabbinic leadership program at the Hartman Institute in Jerusalem was canceled.  My disappointment at not being able to be in Israel with my colleagues seemed minor compared with the missile attacks from Iran that Israelis endured.  I canceled our Airbnb, but held on to our El Al tickets, hoping for a refund instead of a credit.  The war progressed quickly, the...Read more...