07/31/2020 04:01:36 PM
REBUKE OR CONSOLATION: THEY BOTH MEAN LOVE
PARSHAT D’VARIM, 7/25/2020
A parent is exasperated with a child. The hot summer months, especially during our COVID conditions only make the situation worse. The parent rebukes the child for his or her aggressive behavior. Shortly thereafter, the parent feels bad, maybe even ashamed of his or her response.
How...Read more...
07/22/2020 08:37:03 AM
LIFE’S LITTLE PAUSES GIVE US THE PERSPECTIVE WE NEED
PARSHAT MATOT U’MASSIE, 7/18/2020
I remember as a child taking many car trips. Living in Michigan, we would drive to New York City and Washington, DC, to visit family, sightsee, and tour the museums; and we would drive to Colorado and Wyoming in...Read more...
BLACK LIVES MATTER AND THE JEWISH COMMUNITY 7/10/2020
07/15/2020 08:36:43 AM
A few weeks ago, I left a meeting of our local Rabbinic association terribly disappointed. We had tried to make a statement about the bloodshed that had spread across our country. In the throes of the Black Lives Matter Movement we attempted to express our sentiments in such a way that rabbis of the left, center and right- Reform, Conservative and Orthodox- could sign. We failed. We couldn’t do it. We couldn’t...Read more...
“ASK NOT WHAT YOUR COUNTRY CAN DO FOR YOU…..” PARSHAT HUKAT/BALAK- 7/4/20
07/06/2020 12:18:22 PM
The Plano city council voted Wednesday evening. You and I are not required to wear masks in public. Against the wishes of the mayor and 83 percent of the public who responded, the referendum was defeated. It was argued, a requirement to wear a mask is an infringement on one’s freedom. It represents government overreach.
It is an infringement on my freedom...Read more...
ARE YOU REALLY JEALOUS FOR MY SAKE? PARSHAT B’HAALOT’CHA, 6/13/2020
06/19/2020 12:34:22 PM
In a shocking editorial in the New York Times this week, Brett Stephens, a staunch defender of Israel and a writer with tremendous courage and stature wrote the following, “There is a ferocious intellectual intolerance sweeping the country and much of the journalistic establishment with it. Contrary opinions aren’t just wrong but unworthy of discussion. The range of political views deemed morally unfit for publication seems to grow ever...Read more...
WHEN THE MOTOR STOPS…..WE STOP IN THE NAME OF LOVE PARSHAT NASO, 6/6/2020
06/19/2020 12:31:13 PM
Imagine the camera spanning the streets of a major urban center in our country a few short weeks ago. The impressive buildings stand empty. The streets are clean and still. Not a person, not an automobile is present. Silence dominates the scene.
The Doner Ad agency in Detroit produced an amazing ad entitled, “When The Motor Stops.” Utilizing the backdrop of a vacated downtown Detroit they created the following powerful...Read more...
YIZKOR FOR SHAVUOT 5/28/2020
06/18/2020 11:18:26 AM
Naomi Levy, our Arnie Sweet Scholar in Residence just a few years ago composed the following beautiful prayer. To be recited when we light our Yizkor candle- which we did just a few minutes ago- I want to share her touching words with you.
I haven’t forgotten you, even though it’s been some time now since I’ve seen your face, touched your hand, heard your voice. You are with me all the...Read more...