During our last tutoring session before he departed for camp, one of our pre-b’nei mitzvah students was chatting with me about how excited he was to get the summer started. […]
Mere days short of the 250th anniversary of this country’s founding, the state of Texas passed legislation to make the Bible required reading in public schools statewide. Including both the “Old Testament” and […]
When Dodgers pitcher Blake Treinen came into the game last week, his arrival was met with much more discussion than a mid-inning reliever usually warrants. While the rest of his […]
Growing up, my family attended services every single Friday night. It wasn’t that my family was wildly pious. I think my parents found great value in the consistency of Jewish […]
There is a picture that hangs in the Valley Temple Board Room of four men at a pizza restaurant. Taken in the summer of 2023, this picture represents the great […]
In the fall of 2018, a classmate was getting married at Plum Street Synagogue, and I was asked to recite one of the Seven Blessings. We were told to walk […]
“From this moment on, people will look to you as a rabbi, whether you like it or not. You’d better start behaving like one.” These were the words shared at […]
Every year during Chanukah, I buy each of the teachers in my religious school a book as a gift. I go to Joseph-Beth in Rookwood and spend well over an […]
Historically, our congregation’s Middle School class has taken a trip to either Chicago or Detroit every year, both as a learning opportunity and a chance for bonding and memory-making. Over […]
The Olympics came to a close this weekend, concluding our bi-annual celebration of athletic prowess and national pride. In a political climate where supporting one’s country is perhaps as hard […]