Tonight we begin the Festival of Sukkot, our Fall Harvest Extravaganza! In our day and time this is a most overlooked by liberal Jews. With so much emphasis on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur the rest of the High Holy Days- Sukkot, Hoshanah Rabbah, Simchat Torah are often passed by. In the ancient days this…Read more »
Tag: Abraham
The Power of our Ancestors
Parshat Chayei Sarah Genesis 23:1 – 25:18 This past summer I had one of the most powerful spiritual experiences in Israel that I ever had. I visited the Cave of Machpela, the tomb of our ancestors in the ancient city of Hebron. I prayed before the tomb of Abraham and Sarah, the first Jews according…Read more »
A Eulogy for Sarah-Parshat Chayei Sarah
Parshat Chayei Sarah Genesis 23:1-25:28 This week’s Torah portion, although named the life of Sarah opens with news of her death and the purchase of her burial place in the Cave of Machpelah which you can still visit in Hebron, Israel. Today let us remember our great Mother –Sarah who was first of the four…Read more »
Covenantal Journey
Parshat Lech Lecha Genesis 12:1 – 17:27 This week’s Torah portion Lech Lecha begins the journey of our ancestors Sarah and Abraham toward their encounter with the one God. It is this week that we read about the initial covenant with God and the nascent story of the Jewish people. We read of their…Read more »
The San Francisco bris ban
In San Francisco the Anti-Semites are at work. They have collected enough signatures to place an anti-circumcision initiative on the fall ballot in San Francisco county. It would be a crime to perform a circumcision on a minor child. This would involve jail time and a minimum $1000 fine. The group that is sponsoring this ballot initiative…Read more »
Tree
I have had the good fortune to have a tangerine tree nearby that has been bountiful with its tangerines. Overflowing actually. I have been feeding it over the last couple of months and now the tangerines are amazingly sweet and I have been able to share them with lots of folks! It is different to…Read more »