Rabbi's Message

Among the many lessons in this week’s Torah portion, Beha’alotekha, is the lesson about the power of words.  Aaron and Miriam gossip about Moses’ wife and this misdeed leads not only to family turmoil, but also, punishment from God.  Words matter. Today we find ourselves in a world where all too often people throw around words indiscriminately; in ways that lead to misunderstanding, hatred, and sometimes even violence....Read more...

Shavuot is considered one of the most joyous days of the Jewish calendar as we celebrate matan Torah, the gift of the Torah.  However, the seven-week period of the Omer, which concludes this Sunday evening with the beginning of Shavuot, is considered a more somber time.  The solemn tone of these days is perhaps connected to the anticipation and trepidation our ancestors felt as they prepared and waited for the revelation at Sinai....Read more...

             I am overwhelmed with gratitude for this incredible evening, and even more so for this incredible kehillah kedoshah, this amazing sacred community, of Temple Beth Sholom.   Thank you for this honor.  Thank you for all the thoughtful and meaningful gifts.  Thank you to all of you for being here, and to everyone who worked so hard to make tonight so wonderful… 

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In a world where hatred is all too prevalent, we are met this week with a mitzvah to love.  Not just a mitzvah, but according to the great ancient sage Rabbi Akiva, the most fundamental mitzvah of the Torah.  V’ahavta l’reyakha kamokha – “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  Sounds great, but what does it actually mean?  

First, we must look at the context in which it appears.  It comes at the end of...Read more...

Rabbi Lionel Blue once remarked that Jews are just like everyone else, only more so.  This year I feel the same way about Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, that we mark today.  Yom HaShoah is important every year, but this year, even more so.  It is even more so because our pledge to remember, and our promise of Never Again, is being tested.  

It is being tested by the fact that 59 hostages remain in...Read more...

As B’nai Yisrael arrive at Mt. Sinai, God summarizes the three months from the Exodus to that moment with a remarkable phrase:

 “You have seen…how I bore you on Eagles’ wings and brought you to me.”  (Exodus 19:4)  

Perhaps it seemed that way to God, but I’m not sure the Israelites experienced it quite the same way.  For them, it was the whole period of the plagues, anxiety as Pharaoh’s army...Read more...

In a world with so much uncertainty, it is important to have things that root us.  Family, friends, community, traditions – all of these things can help serve that purpose.  Something else that helps us to root us is our calendar, which in Judaism sets the rhythm of the year and reminds us of our story and values.  This Shabbat is Shabbat HaHodesh.  We will take a second Torah from the ark and read Exodus 12, which...Read more...

Tonight begins our celebration of Purim.  I hope that you will join us at 7pm for our first installment of Purim Madness, which will include Megillah reading, song parodies, costume contests with fabulous prizes, and food and fun.  And then on Sunday morning, we will continue our celebration with our Family Megillah reading followed by our Purim Extravaganza!  See below for details.  On Purim we celebrate Mordehai and...Read more...

Tonight begins the Hebrew month of Adar, about which the Talmud says Mi Shenikhas Adar Marbin B’Simha, when the month of Adar begins, our joy increases.  Our tradition attributes this to the Purim holiday, which we will celebrate in a couple of weeks.  We know joy and happiness are not emotions we can automatically feel simply because we turn a page on a calendar.  Especially in a time when our hearts are heavy from another...Read more...

Today is Tu B'shevat, the new year for the trees.  We celebrate it by eating fruits, especially the seven species of Israel, as well as taking time to reflect on and recommit ourselves to environmental concerns.  Some also mark this holiday with a Tu...Read more...

I just returned from a week in Israel, where I got a deeper appreciation for the emotional roller coaster that the whole society is on. One moment, there is the joy of seeing hostages released, and then the sense of sorrow and pain from the release of murders, the loss of soldiers, and the general heaviness of the toll all of this has taken on Israelis. I felt this most acutely last Shabbat, where the shul I was at interrupted services to...Read more...

At the beginning of this week’s Torah portion,Vaera, Moses announces to the Israelites that God has appeared to him and that they will be redeemed by the mighty hand of  God and be brought to the land promised to their ancestors. Yet, after Moses’ impassioned speech, the Torah says “v’lo shamu el Moshe mikotzer ruah u’mei avodah kasha-- “They could not hear/listen to Moses on account of kotzer ruah and difficult...Read more...

Today, our hearts are not only in the East with our brothers and sisters in Israel, but they are also in the West as a number of devastating wildfires continue to ravage California.  We thank God for the brave work of first responders and firefighters, and we are grateful for the safety of the evacuees. Yet, we know that the loss of homes and communities has been immense, including the burning down of the Conservative synagogue, the...Read more...

Jewish tradition relates that when the Maccabees entered the damaged and desecrated Temple in Jerusalem around 165 BCE, they looked to see if any oil remained sealed by the high priest with which they could light the Temple Menorah. They found one cruse of oil that was enough for one day. But, miraculously, the small amount of oil burned for eight days, which was long enough for the priest to prepare more and keep the light...Read more...

This week we learned the tragic news that Omer Neutra, another American-Israeli who was thought to held hostage by Hamas, was actually killed on October 7.  For 423 days, his parents, Ronen and Orna, believed he was alive, and advocated tirelessly for his release.  As is often the case, TBS has a close connection to the Neutra family. Rabbi Joel Levenson, who was our Associate Rabbi, is the Neutra’s rabbi on Long Island and has...Read more...