Am Yisrael Chai: It’s not a slogan, it is a way of life
I remember growing up as a kid in Brooklyn singing the Am Yisrael Chai chant, we’d sing it with great excitement and with great pride. And then I remember myself as a young adult, growing into my career as a professional Jew working for various nonprofits, always ending my talks, and my social media posts,…
Tikun Israel precedes Tikun Olam
A New-Old Approach At this very moment Am Yisrael finds itself at an intersection of existential proportions. October 7th, 2023…
Movement of The People
What was once “Never Again”, is happening again except this time around it is different. Unlike our ancestors who confronted humanity’s worse for 2,000 years, 1948 ushered in a new reality—Israel. The manifestation of the age-old dream to return and be free in our home, l’hiyot am chofshi b’artzeinu, is a game changer and we are holding on for dear life.
Community Update: Rabbi Leor Sinai US Speaking Tour
Rabbi Leor Sinai, US Speaking Tour Rabbi Leor Sinai is a Global Speaker, Education Diplomacy Thought-Leader, and long-time Zionist…
On MLK Day: Zionism and Tikun Israel
In 1963 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. shared his dream that “…this nation (US) will rise up and live out…
Genesis 18:1-3 “VaYera”, and he saw/appeared… וַיֵּרָא אֵלָיו ה’ בְּאֵלֹנֵי מַמְרֵא וְהוּא יֹשֵׁב פֶּתַח־הָאֹהֶל כְּחֹם הַיּוֹם: ב וַיִּשָּׂא עֵינָיו וַיַּרְא וְהִנֵּה שְׁלֹשָׁה אֲנָשִׁים נִצָּבִים עָלָיו וַיַּרְא וַיָּרָץ לִקְרָאתָם מִפֶּתַח הָאֹהֶל וַיִּשְׁתַּחוּ אָרְצָה: ג וַיֹּאמַר אֲדֹנָי אִם־נָא מָצָאתִי חֵן בְּעֵינֶיךָ אַל־נָא תַעֲבֹר מֵעַל עַבְדֶּךָ: And the Lord appeared to him in the plains of Mamre; and…
I remember the first time it hit me, the value and fragility of Klal Yisrael, Jewish Peoplehood. It was the assassination of Yitzchak Rabin (zl’) in 1995; I was studying at Haifa University. Jews from Israel to North America and around the world reacted to the assassination in shock and grief. No one knew what…
Remember the first time you left your home, your family, and everything that was familiar to you? Perhaps it was college? Or simply moving on as is symbolic of growth and maturity? It may of not been an easy move, though in hindsight we all admit the great value of moving on, moving forward.
Friends, We just finished off the High Holy Day Marathon, prayed, cried, laughed, reflected, ate, fasted and of course repented… Are we done yet? Think again, Sukkot is upon us. One of three festivals (Passover & Shavuot), reflecting historical, agricultural, and mystical significance.
The times are a changing, economies tumbling here in the U.S. and around the world, geo-political movements, Iran, Iraq, Russia, wars in Africa, Darfur, Genocide, environmental crises, the changing heads of state both here in the U.S. and in Israel, and much much more. So great are these events in our society, that we may…
Shalom, As we reflect and prepare for our entry into another space and time, I would like to share with you some of my reflections. The only references to this period of judgment we are entering is found in Leviticus 23:23, “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first…