By Joshua Yudkin Political scientist Benedict Anderson defined a nation as an imagined political community that is inherently limited yet sovereign. In other words, this political community is imagined, because…
By Laura Seymour The school year has started and I have added a weekly learning session for all those in our J Senior Department. It is so wonderful that our…
By Rabbi Yerachmiel D. Fried Dear Rabbi, At this time of the year I am always troubled by the fact that all Jews “know” there is a mitzvah to hear…
By Rabbi Dan Lewin We are deep into the Jewish month of Elul, which is regarded as the preparatory period for the Days of Awe ahead. But more than a…
We celebrate the same holidays every year and we read the Torah parasha by parasha every year. Yet there is always something new to learn and discover. Sometimes we struggle…
By Rabbi Stephen FischParashat Ki Tetse Our Torah portion for this week, Ki Tetse, is filled with mitzvot which apply to us today as much as they did in Biblical…
Dear Rabbi, Recently I’ve seen a lot written about happiness. Happiness is a very difficult concept to quantify, and historians debate whether or not we, with all our creature comforts,…
By Rabbi Debra RobbinsParashat Shoftim In this week’s Torah portion, Parashat Shoftim, the text’s well-known, seemingly repetitive injunction, “tzedek tzedek tirdof, justice, justice you shall pursue” (Deuteronomy 16:20), demands we…
Dear Families, In “researching” (is that the same as Googling?) Elul, I have learned lots of new things and have found many helpful ways to make the reflection over this…
Rabbi Fried, I was invited to a bris at an orthodox synagogue this past week and they blew the shofar at the end of services. When I asked someone why…