June 4, 2026
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 […]
May 21, 2026
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 […]
May 8, 2026
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 […]
April 20, 2026
“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 […]
March 26, 2026
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 […]
March 12, 2026
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 […]
February 26, 2026
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 […]
February 12, 2026
If they were alive to see it today, the Maccabees would hate the way American Jews celebrate Chanukah. For the Hasmoneans (the dynasty the Maccabees founded), the central conflict of […]
January 30, 2026
If Donald Trump is good at one thing, it is controlling the narrative. The man has been impeached twice, precipitated an insurrection, been linked to multiple sex scandals, and abused […]
January 8, 2026
When I told my mother that I went to see the new David movie, her first question was, “Was it super Christian?” It wasn’t an unreasonable question. As I sat […]