Rabbi's Week in Review Blog

It is wonderful to be together with people we have not seen for so long, and that includes the occasional hug. At the same time, there is still a struggle to know the right way to act in relation to the pandemic. When do we wear a mask? Is it really OK to be back together in person? Should we only be together when we can be outside?

I do believe in the efficacy of the vaccines — that they are working not only to keep those of us who...Read more...

If I had to land on an overarching theme and/or feeling for the past week, it would be tension.  In an elongated period of persistent tension in the world and in our individual lives, last week seemed to stand out. Generally, I see some tension as a good thing — machloket l’shem shamayim, argument for the sake of heaven — but only if it is a catalyst for changing a negative dynamic. Last week was not about change; rather,...Read more...

This has been a troubling week in the Middle East. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has again turned violent. There is nothing new about this (the last violent conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, particularly Hamas, occurred in 2014). What is new: the riots and violence that have arisen in Israeli cities between Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs, and Palestinians particularly, where Jews and Arabs have lived together in relative harmony....Read more...

This coming Shabbat, we will celebrate as a community the bat mitzvah of Scarlett Nevins.  The Nevins have been a part of our Kol Ami family longer than I have. This is a community celebration as well as a time to celebrate Scarlett having reached this time in life. 

By becoming a bat mitzvah and taking on more responsibility as she becomes an adult in Klal Yisrael, in our Jewish community, she connects all of us more...Read more...

The famous quote from Rabbi Hillel goes, “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am for myself only, what am I? And if not now, when?” I have tended to focus more attention on the second tenet: “If I am for myself only ...” 

I firmly believe we should show up for others simply because it is the right thing to do.  Related to this idea, I have avoided the idea that we know the suffering of others because of...Read more...