Archive for September 2025

Rosh Hashanna Morning 2025 – GainesvilleRabbi Cy Stanway  Several years ago, the tabloids had a field day when the beautiful, young, troubled Christina Onassis committed suicide, leaving behind her five-year-old daughter. In a phrase that probably encapsulated much of her tragic depression, the papers defined her as the “heiress to the Onassis fortune.” In other…

Gainesville, 2025 Even though I pretty in the dark about baseball, even I know the iconic picture of Babe Ruth from Game 3 of the 1932 World Series against the Chicago Cubs. In the fifth inning, Ruth stepped up to the plate, gestured toward the outfield, and hit the next pitch over the wall. This…

Nitzavim – Gainesville I am not sure why, but this week’s portion is my all-time favorite. I have tried to understand why I like it so much. The only thing I can think of is its striking imagery.  Atem nitzavim hayom – You are standing here together today, all of you…” With these words, Moses…

Ki Tavo – Gainesville I sometimes wonder how many love songs have ever been written.  Hard to know.  So I asked ChatGPT and here is what I found:  On Spotify alone, there are millions of songs tagged with themes of love, heartbreak, romance, or relationships. From ancient times to the present, poetry set to music,…

PARASHAT SHOFTIM – GAINESVILLE When scholars began looking at the book of Deuteronomy from a literary-critical point of view and not just as a religious text, the general consensus was that the book was written long after the first 4 books of the Torah and that it reflected a moment in Jewish history when the…