By Rabbi Bonnie Margulis
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1)
September 29 begins the festival of Sukkot. It is tradition to read the book of Ecclesiastes during the festival. A refrain throughout the book is the thought that …
By Rabbi Yona Matusof
This year is the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War. As millions prayed in synagogues, the Egyptian and Syrian armies surprised the Israelis with attacks on two fronts.
On the west bank of the Suez Canal, the Egyptians had 100,000 soldiers, 1,350 tanks, and 2,000 …
By Rabbi Jonathan Biatch
As we prepare for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, I think about a question, relevant to our times, that we can find in the book of Jonah, which many of us will read together on Yom Kippur.
Jonah, a most reluctant prophet, is commanded by God to prophesy against the s…
By Rabbi Mendel Matusof
There are many Jewish holidays celebrating the many aspects of our Jewish peoplehood. Our exodus from Egypt, receiving the Torah, traveling the desert, and being spared from our antisemitic enemies, to name a few.
Rosh Hashanah is the exception. Rosh Hashanah is a c…
By Rabbi Laurie Zimmerman
In “The Rabbi’s Gift,” Scott Peck tells a story about a monastery that had fallen on hard times. The building was crumbling, and the order was shrinking. Only five monks remained. A rabbi from a nearby town used to spend time meditating in a hut in a forest t…
