Friday May 16, 2025 – י״ח אִיָיר תשפ”ה On the dry erase board that released hostage Edan Alexander held up in the helicopter ride from Gaza back to his Israel upon his release, he wrote three things: (In English) “Thank You President TRUMP!!!” עם ישראל חי!!! (The People of Israel Live) היידה גולני 51 –  […]

Friday May 8, 2024 – י״א אִיָיר קְדֹשִׁ֣ים תִּהְי֑וּ כִּ֣י קָד֔וֹשׁ אֲנִ֖י יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃ (ויקרא יט:ב) “You shall be holy, for I, your God יהוה, am holy.” (Leviticus 19:2)   Let me begin this week’s message with a thank you to all who voted, got others to vote, and helped organize, mobilize, and work on […]

May 5, 2025 – The election for the 2025 World Zionist Congress has been a significant success for our 3 slates, representing the majority of liberal Jewry in the U.S. It was also a success for furthering our values of pluralism, equality, justice, and democracy. During a time when Zionism as a concept is more controversial […]

Friday May 2, 2025 – ד׳ אִיָיר תשפ”ה Rock Of Israel “PLACING OUR TRUST IN THE “ROCK OF ISRAEL,” WE AFFIX OUR SIGNATURES TO THIS PROCLAMATION AT THIS SESSION OF THE PROVISIONAL COUNCIL OF STATE, ON THE SOIL OF THE HOMELAND, IN THE CITY OF TEL-AVIV, ON THIS SABBATH EVE, THE 5TH DAY OF IYAR, […]

Apirl 24, 2025 – כ״ז נִיסָן תשפ”ה This Shabbat, we find ourselves in between two important and deeply meaningful days on our Jewish and Israeli calendar. The Shabbat, between Yom HaShoah and Yom HaAtzmaut has been designated as a “special” Shabbat coined “Shabbat Tekumah” – “The Shabbat of Revival.” This “revival” represents the dramatic turn […]

Friday April 18, 2025 – כ׳ נִיסָן אָמַ֥ר אוֹיֵ֛ב אֶרְדֹּ֥ף אַשִּׂ֖יג אֲחַלֵּ֣ק שָׁלָ֑ל תִּמְלָאֵ֣מוֹ נַפְשִׁ֔י אָרִ֣יק חַרְבִּ֔י תּוֹרִישֵׁ֖מוֹ יָדִֽי (שמות ט”ו:ט) “The foe said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; My desire shall have its fill of them. I will bare my sword— My hand shall subdue them.” (Exodus 15:9 […]

Thursday April 10, 2025 – י״ב נִיסָן תשפ”ה What are you going to add to your Seder Plate this year? On Tuesday morning, I sat around a table across from the parents, siblings, aunts, and uncles of several of the 59 hostages remaining in Gaza. I listened to their painful stories, the love and affection […]

April 4, 2025 – ו׳ נִיסָן תשפ”ה “You, who are on the road, must have a code you try to live by And so become yourself, because the past is just a goodbye…” ~ Graham Nash, 1970 Of all the holidays in the Jewish calendar year, Pesach is the most closely related and connected to […]

Friday March 27, 2025 – כ״ה אִיָיר תשפ”ה בֶּ֚קַע לַגֻּלְגֹּ֔לֶת מַחֲצִ֥ית הַשֶּׁ֖קֶל בְּשֶׁ֣קֶל הַקֹּ֑דֶשׁ לְכֹ֨ל הָעֹבֵ֜ר עַל־הַפְּקֻדִ֗ים מִבֶּ֨ן עֶשְׂרִ֤ים שָׁנָה֙ וָמַ֔עְלָה לְשֵׁשׁ־מֵא֥וֹת אֶ֙לֶף֙ וּשְׁלֹ֣שֶׁת אֲלָפִ֔ים וַחֲמֵ֥שׁ מֵא֖וֹת וַחֲמִשִּֽׁים׃ (שמות לח:כו) “…a half-shekel a head, half a shekel by the sanctuary weight, for each one who was entered in the records, from the age of twenty […]

March 24, 2025 – כ״ד אַדָר תשפ”ה The Association of Reform Zionists of America deeply mourns the loss of Rabbi Stanley Davids, a past President of ARZA and a champion of Reform Zionism. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1939, Rabbi Davids was ordained from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1965. Very active […]