Rabbi's Blog

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To My Beth Am Family,
 
As the sun sets this evening, we all will sit and partake in the three thousand year old Jewish tradition of remembering...Read more...

           This High Holy Day season marks the beginning of my 11th year as a full-time Rabbi at Temple Beth Am. I vividly remember coming to the synagogue in my first days. I’m sure you guys can all imagine sitting in the office for the first time noticing all of the new and exciting things. For me, it was exciting because the office was filled with, pretty much, nothing. I mean literally,...Read more...

           So I know that our society has been completely obsessed with millennial’s and their effect on our culture, but this evening I want to talk about a different generation: generation X. Remember us, the kids who grew up on the Brady Bunch. In particular, I want to talk about music. How many of you here remember “The Metal Hair Bands?” Come on, admit it, you remember those loud...Read more...

           Over the past few summers, I have had the absolute pleasure of seeing my children perform in musicals. Their shows are the outcome of the blood, sweat, and tears they shed over two weeks of rehearsals at their theater camps. It’s so great to see the kids up on stage doing their lines, singing their songs, and performing with great panache. Of course, at every performance, there...Read more...

            Since our kids were infants, Ellen and I always loved reading to our children at night. It is just one of those timeless traditions where we would cuddle them up in our arms while holding the book with our hands, taking them on a journey to a land described in the book. One of the books that my kids loved the most was Papa, Get Me The Moon by Eric Carle. It tells the story of...Read more...

To my Beth Am Family,

As the sun sets this coming Friday evening, many of us will gather with family and friends to begin Passover. Many of us will arrive at the Seder table with the smells of chicken soup and brisket wafting through our houses. Yes, Passover is about matzah, charoset, and horseradish.  And it is also about the powerful themes of freedom, redemption, and hope. All of these things and so much more make Passover...Read more...

              About a year ago, the Pew Research Center came out with their famous report about religion in America. Many of us in the Jewish world had are eyes opened to the reality that Jews were becoming less and less connected to their heritage and their beliefs. However, the report didn't just focus on the Jewish community. This report, like many reports, informed all of us...Read more...

          This past summer, my family had the pleasure of visiting the 9/11 Memorial. It took us awhile to find the official opening to the park area. So with every turn, we gasped, hoping to find what we were looking for. As the Freedom Tower stared down at us, we finally reached our destination. The roar of the two waterfalls filled the air. As we took steps towards the black plaques, we...Read more...

          This past summer, Ellen and I went on a cruise. In the evening, we liked to go to the comedy shows. At the beginning of each show, they played a small movie clip of George Lopez. The bit was about kids on cruise ships. He talked about how great it was that cruise ships have kids all over the place. He went on to say just how crazy some of these kids acted. He said, "Just yesterday, I saw...Read more...

        The new iPhone came out this weekend. Anybody here have a new iPhone yet? You guys like it? Many of us heard about this new introduction by Apple a few weeks ago, but we finally were able to get our hands on it this past weekend. And as we heard, the gadget is filled with many wonderful new features. And while it can track your heart rate and your calorie intake, and perhaps it can even call your...Read more...

Shanah Tovah,

As the sun sets this evening, the Jewish world will celebrate another New Year. Globally, Jews will recognize the beauty and wonder that was created 5775 years ago. This evening will also mark a time for Jews to reflect on their journeys, giving an opportunity for growth.

The entire Jewish world can seem vast and complex, but for us in Yorktown, we strive to simplify things. Community and connection through a...Read more...

Dear Temple Beth Am,

Tuesday evening, our Beth Am Israel group met to discuss the future of our impending Israel trip. Based on the overall feelings of the group, we decided to postpone the trip to some undefined date. The entire group had strong feelings about their desire to travel to Israel, but not at this time.

While our decision is not to travel to Israel, our prayers and our thoughts are with the Israelis as well as the...Read more...

To My Temple Beth Am Community,

 As I write this, the smells of Passover are ruminating around my house. The sweet feelings fill my soul because on those nights we came together to celebrate the best of Judaism: tradition, culture and heritage. Passover means so much to many of us, but perhaps most of all Passover is about hope – hope for a better time.

This is the reason I am...Read more...

I vividly remember when I was a kid, coming home on a sunny afternoon in March. I walked through the door and heard the sound of the TV on in the background. It was strange to me because my mother never watched TV when I came home from school. As I walked into the living room, my mother uttered, "The President had been shot." I remember feeling that I was safe, because things like this only happened...Read more...

Dear Temple Beth Am Family,

As I sit in my office writing this article to you, I realize it is a little over a month after the horrific tragedy that happened at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. For me, the images are still fresh. I vividly remember watching the children fleeing their comforting school. I remember...Read more...