From the Rabbi's Desk

We returned from Camp Ramah Darom on Sunday afternoon and it’s great to be back. We love our time at Camp each summer and reconnecting with friends and a place that’s a second home to us. We love the opportunity to witness the future of the Jewish people unfolding right in front of us. We love seeing our daughters smiling from ear to ear as they’re immersed in a Jewish environment and given so many meaningful and fun opportunities. I...Read more...

The name of this week’s parsha, Behalotecha, translates to “when you raise”, in reference to the lamps of the menorah in the Mishkan (Tabernacle) that Aaron is commanded to raise. God instructs Moses on the procedures for Israel’s journeys and encampments in the desert, and they journey from Mount Sinai where they camped for nearly a year, to receive the Torah. The Israelites become displeased with their manna...Read more...

Traditional theology has asserted that “everything happens for a reason” and that when we do bad, we’re punished and when we do good we’re rewarded. This idea isn’t unique to Judaism and the Jewish people. It’s something that different religious groups and their followers have clung to for centuries. Some of us find this idea to be comforting because it means there’s a rationale that the world operates in a way that’s neat and...Read more...