The Pursuit of Happiness
“We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator …
Category Archives: Torah
Building God’s House
I was in Israel last week, and while walking in Jerusalem with a friend I suddenly lost my bearings and …
You’ve Come a Long Way Baby… Sorta
The following is the sermon I gave at my synagogue on 4/20/18. Remember the Virginia Slims cigarette ads, when there …
Our Children Are Answering the Call
“And God called.” The third book of the Torah, which we call Leviticus, begins with this simply phrase, with God …
“Don’t be a jerk”
“If you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” The quotation is from Abraham Lincoln, but it could …
The Masks We Wear
Appearances can be deceiving. In Sarasota Florida, where I live, it feels like summer, but it is the dead of …
Three Questions
We humans use a lot of adjectives to describe God. Inquisitive isn’t usually on the list. But in the first …
Prayers of Thanks Before the Storm
You’d think praying would be pretty simple. But often it’s anything but. Sometimes it comes haltingly, or not at all. …
The Opposite of Indifference
One of my dogs has a slight limp, the result of an abusive past owner and advancing age. Lately, it’s …
What Does God Want of Us?
Last week, the Torah portion included the Shema, the statement that is so central to Judaism, an injunction to pay …
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