Inauguration Week

It has been an extraordinary week, especially for those of us in the United States. Just 45 years after the 1964 Civil Rights act, we have a black President. I think that this is part and parcel of what has made the United States such a Medina Shel Chesed, kind host...

Hidden Miracles

Our Sages teach that Moshe’s father, Amram, withdrew from his wife because of Pharoah’s cruel decree that the midwives should kill any male Jewish child. His daughter Miriam protested, saying that because of him there would be no Jewish girls, either...

Mourning the Destruction of the Temples and Exile

During this month, on the seventeenth day of Tammuz, we begin the period of mourning for the destruction of the Temples and the Jewish exile. In the Ashkenazic world, there are no weddings until after Tisha B’Av and enjoyable occasions and trips are minimized. The...