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 […]
Friday March 21, 2025 – כ״א אַדָר תשפ”ה For many Israelis who are striving to save Israeli democracy, this past Wednesday brought back “nostalgic” feelings of the pre-October 7th reality. Coming in droves by train to the nation’s capital, they carried signs and banners. They revived familiar chants about democracy, the balance of power, and […]
Friday, March 14, 2025 – י״ד אַדָר תשפ”ה The story, as we know it, is all too familiar. The power-hungry megalomaniacal aspiring tyrant and scapegoat artist who whispers conspiracy theories and plots to rid the nation/empire/world of the Jews with the goal of self-advancement and purported heroism. The Purim story sees the unlikely savior in […]
Friday March 6, 2025 – ז׳ אַדָר תשפ”ה What if I told you that you could do something simple that would have a significant impact on the future of the State of Israel and the Jewish people? Over the past 5 years, especially the past 16 months, many of us have supported or traveled to […]
Friday February 28, 2024 – ל׳ שְׁבָט תשפ”ה “את זוכרת את ההחלטה האחרונה שלנו? בממ”ד, כששאלתי אותך אם ׳נלחמים או נכנעים׳. אמרת לי ׳נלחמים׳, אז נלחמתי.” ~ירדן ביבס, בהספד על משפחתו ב- 26.02.2025 “Do you remember our last decision together? In the safe room, when I asked you, ‘Do we fight or surrender?’ You said, […]
Shekels Matter: Reform Judaism in Israel Shabbat Shekalim and Parashat Terumah March 1, 2025 – א׳ אַדָר תשפ״ה Rabbi Barry H. Block As we prepare to encourage members of our community to Vote Reform! in the upcoming World Zionist Congress election, we must prepare ourselves for some challenging conversations, particularly when we discuss the […]
Friday February 21, 2025 – כ״ג שְׁבָט תשפ”ה דּוֹדִ֥י צַח֙ וְאָד֔וֹם דָּג֖וּל מֵרְבָבָֽה׃ רֹאשׁ֖וֹ כֶּ֣תֶם פָּ֑ז קְוֻצּוֹתָיו֙ תַּלְתַּלִּ֔ים שְׁחֹר֖וֹת כָּעוֹרֵֽב׃ (שיר השירים ה:י) “My beloved is clear-skinned and ruddy, preeminent among ten thousand. His head is finest radiant gold.” (Song of Songs 5:10) The image will likely go down in history as one […]
Friday February 14, 2025 – ט״ז שְׁבָט תשפ”ה Standing Again at Sinai: Our Moment to Shape the Future. “There we were all in one place, a generation lost in space…” We stood together as an entire nation, waiting to be transformed. Our tradition teaches that all Jews—past, present, and future—stood at the foot of […]