The Pulse of Israel: WHAT WE ARE STANDING IN
These words are from a presentation I gave at a Jewish National Fund – USA engagement in Denver, June 10, 2026 at Temple Emanuel. I want to begin with a moment of honesty. I travel. I speak. I meet Jewish communities across the United States and the world. And there is something extraordinarily special when…
Vision & Practice: Don’t Lose the Trees for the Forest
The best leaders hold the long view and the present moment at the same time. Some organizations are caught in…
Don’t Lose the Trees for the Forest
A Jewish people in crisis needs both the long view and the present moment You’ve heard the saying: don’t lose…
We Teach Who We Are: A Practical Guide for Classroom Educators
Teaching About Israel in Times of Crisis Table of Contents Introduction: The Educator at the Center Chapter 1: Understanding the…
The Global Jewish-Israel Syntheses Imagine: We Are All Israeli
I was thinking, growing up, my world was a tapestry of hyphenated identities. There was my Russian-American friend, my Italian-American…
The world as it should be? Now how you gonna do that? Last week’s Torah portion describes Jacob’s dream (you know, the one with the ladder): “And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold the angels of Gd ascending and descending…
As yesterday’s bus bombing in Tel Aviv unfolded, I was asked by a friend who works for Sky News to provide an eyewitness account of the events as they took place. I was then asked to take part in a live debate. The debate included 2 Israelis & 2 Palestinians (living in Gaza). It was interesting,…
“רְאֵה נָתַתִּי לְפָנֶיךָ הַיּוֹם, אֶת-הַחַיִּים וְאֶת-הַטּוֹב, וְאֶת-הַמָּוֶת, וְאֶת-הָרָע.” (דברים ל:טו) – הרמב”ם בהלכות תשובה פרק ה’ הלכה א’ מסביר: “הרשות לכל אדם נתונה אם רצה להטות עצמו לדרך טובה ולהיות צדיק הרשות בידו, ואם רצה להטות עצמו לדרך רעה ולהיות רשע הרשות בידו.” בראש השנה עלינו להחליט לאיזה כיוון אנו הולכים? נכון שאנחנו מבקשים סליחות,…
“ואהבת לרעך כמוך” הוא פסוק בתורה, מצווה ומושג יסוד, לדעת חכמי ישראל לדורותיהם. משמעותו היא שהאדם צריך לאהוב את הזולת כשם שהוא אוהב את עצמו. מכלל זה נגזרים דרכי התנהגויות רבות, שבגללן חכמי המשנה התייחסו אליו כאל כלל מרכזי וחשוב בכל התורה. זה הזמן בחודש אלול לקראת ימי ראש השנה ויום כיפור שעלינו להתייחס אחד…
Rabbi condemns Ahmadinejad’s Israel ‘cancer’ remark When the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad compares Israel to a cancer, I take it personally.On Monday, you see, I traveled to Israel to co-officiate at a wedding. And I have cancer.I’ve been in remission from lymphoma for several years and I visit Israel on average once or twice a year.…
There’s a lot riding on this month of Elul as we journey to the Days of Awe; a period of healing, time to reflect on our lives and our relationships – with the expectation that we can return to a clean slate.