I am a coffee fanatic. I am also a Judaism fanatic. So imagine my joy when I was able to tie in a coffee story to Jewish story. What am I talking about? Let me explain. The word on the street is that Starbucks will soon begin selling instant coffee,…

As you know, it is almost Springtime and Springtime always means planting and  gardening and getting down and dirty in the soil and pray that what grows out  of the ground somewhat resembles the seeds you put into the ground! Now, as I  was getting ready for planting this season…

The profoundly horrific events of Pittsburgh at the Tree of Life synagogue this past Shabbat has given us all pause to consider what it means to be Jewish in America.  There are the statistics that show quite clearly how contemporary American society finds it all too easy to attack Jews.…

When I was a young rabbinic student and had just come back from my first year in Israel, I arrived in Cincinnati for a crash course in leading High Holiday services.  I wasn’t worried about my Hebrew.  That was fine.  I was worried about writing sermons, something I had never…

You probably all know the joke about the young man who came home from school one day and said to his mother, “Mom, I want to become a rabbi!” At which point his mother says, “That’s nice dear. But let me ask you a question: What kind of job is…

Candle Lighting for Lia Bram There is a time for everything under the heavens. So says Kohelet in the Bible. There is a time to live and a time to die. A time to rejoice and a time to weep. Today, at this moment my family and I rejoice. And,…