R’eih. See. That single word — a command, really — opens this week’s parashah. Not “hear,” not “consider,” not “reflect upon.” See or, as I like to say, Looky here!” Moses is not asking the Israelites to passively receive information. He is demanding that they open their eyes, engage their minds, and look clearly at…

Parashat Matot-MaaseiJuly 10, 2026 CBI – Boca Raton No matter how many times I have read a portion, studied some text or learned something new from the biblical luminaries of the Jewish people, it is so breathtakingly obvious how human everyone is. We may stand in awe of the likes of King David or King…

I believe that every Jewish community is looking for a reason to celebrate. I mean, just look at the B’nai Israel calendar.  There are more events celebrating our children, our holidays, our Shabbatot, and so forth.  Every committee and every department has some kind of celebration. I am convinced that, if I wanted to, I…

Parashat Vaetchanan: The Fewest of All PeoplesJuly 25 There’s a verse in this week’s parasha that seems to make no sense in the context of the Torah. Moses tells the people, quite plainly, that God did not set His affection on them because they were numerous. In fact, Moses says the opposite: “for you are…

Video D’var for B’nai Israel, Boca Raton Shabbat Shalom. This Shabbat has a name of its own: Shabbat Nachamu, the Shabbat of Comfort. It takes its name from the opening words of this week’s haftarah from the book of the major prophet, Isaiah:  נַחֲמ֥וּ נַחֲמ֖וּ עַמִּ֑י “Nachamu, nachamu ami” — “Comfort, oh comfort My people”…

A Sermon for Shabbat Hazon — Isaiah 1:18 July 18, 2026 – CBI Boca “Come now, let us reason together,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.”  לְכוּ־נָ֛א וְנִוָּכְחָ֖ה יֹאמַ֣ר יְהֹוָ֑ה We are in the deepest days of summer, and it is supposed to be a time…

Congregation B’nai Israel – July 11, 2026 Often when someone is choosing which passage to read in Torah, there is pause. When we are in Leviticus, do we really want to enumerate the list of sacrifices? When we are in Exodus, do we really want to enumerate all the names of all the tribal heads…

We open the Book of Devarim — Deuteronomy — this week, and we find Moses doing something extraordinary. He is not leading. He is not performing miracles. He is not receiving commandments on a mountain. He is talking. Listen to how the book begins…”Eileh ha-d’varim” — these are the words. These are the words that…

They say that when someone speaks their last words, these are always the words that people pay attention to. Moses’ last oration at the end of Deuteronomy is one of the moments.  You can easily imagine the people inclining their ears wanting to glean every syllable.  I’m no Moses, but I am going to take…