I just found this charming for several reasons, not the least of which, because Mina is a friend of mine and her father is the iconic former LA city council member (and founding editor of “HaAm” the UCLA Jewish student newspaper) Zev Yaroslavsky. I also thought back to a couple of things. First of all … More Shiva and the Rose Parade
Today, I read Torah for the Second Day of Rosh Hashanah, probably one of the most dramatic lines in all of Torah from the famous “Akedah,” or Abraham’s near sacrific of his son, Isaac on Mount Moriah. There’s some deliberate dramatic embellishment that use. (Genesis 22:11) וַיִּקְרָ֨א אֵלָ֜יו מַלְאַ֤ךְ יְהוָה֙ מִן־הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וַיֹּ֖אמֶר אַבְרָהָ֣ם ׀ אַבְרָהָ֑ם … More Dramatic License: Chanting “Akeidat Yitzhak”
Not exactly the hit Netflix TV series… During the repetition of the Musaf Amidah on Rosh HaShanah, there are 3 themes: “Malchuyot” (Soverignty), “Zichronot” (Memories) and Shofarot (Blasts of the Shofar). In this year’s rendition, there were three big moments for me, today. The first came during the reading of the Haftarah for the First … More Keter Melucha (The “Crown”)
Imagine being in the biggest crowd of Jews and other supporters of Israel that you have ever seen in your life. That was November 14, 2023 in Washington DC … More With 290,000 of my closest friends in Washington D.C.
I was at the Tikkun Leil Shavuot this week and the featured speakers were two Rabbinic students from Ziegler. The presentations were good but one of the students made a comment during the Q&A that I found absolutely astounding. He said that some of his Rabbinic classmates were, in his words, “dismissive” of Israel. I … More Dismissive of Israel? WTF?
Following in the footsteps of Civil Rights Heros … More With Liberty and Justice For All?
What are your memories of that fateful day, 20 years ago? Mine are somewhat like yesterday, though the specifics are fading. … More 20 Years since 9-11: What a difference a few days makes?
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=225132949570827&id=523541507&sfnsn=mo I wish everyone Shanah Tova U’metukah, a Healthy, Happy and Safe 5782, starting tonight! The Mitzvah is to “hear” the Shofar, not to “sound” the Shofar so you’ve now fulfilled the tradition! There are 3 basic Shofar Blasts: Tekiyah (one un-interrupted blast) Sh’Varim (3 blasts) T’ruah (More of a Staccato, traditionally 9 blasts) There’s … More Last Shofar of 5781
It is time we gave our communal leaders a break when it comes to decisions related to the Chagim. … More Give our communal leaders a break
A recent story in the LA Times got me thinking about all the crazy disruptions in this weird COVID world we find ourselves in. The author muses about “missing the comfort of ‘my’ seat in synagogue when the whole world is askew.” “One Saturday morning last fall I arrived at my synagogue, only to discover … More Psst, you’re sitting in my spot
The Tao of Steve 