Rabbi’s Blog

Mackay, Idaho, was a copper and silver mining town. "There were over 1,200 people living on this mountain," Mayor Wayne Olsen said to CBS News in a recent interview. “Now it's just the squirrels." Over the years, the town’s population dwindled, until the school was...

(a de-stressing pre-holiday thought) The lead up to the High Holidays is a stressful time for all. Rabbi’s are busy putting their sermons together, cantors are tuning up their voices. Jewish homes are preparing brisket or other delicious delights, families are getting...

I matter. I acknowledge and am aware of the beauty of my soul, the depth of my character, the holiness of my existence, and the potential that exists within me. Because of this, I am pained by those parts of my life that I feel aren't the real me. I feel ashamed by...

Parsha Ki Teitzei says: “When you will go out to make war on (lit., above) your enemies …” (Deut. 20:1) Sometimes people encounter enemies in the world, those from whom they need to protect themselves. On an allegorical level, you can also ask who your inner enemies...

Parsha Shoftim (Judges) tells us: “You shall place Judges and [judicial] enforcers at all your city gates…” (Deuteronomy16:18). This is also interpreted as applying to each individual as well, since each of us is a small city (Ecclesiastics 9:14). How do we know what...

As a last summer hurrah, we took the kids to Tallulah Gorge Sliding Rock.  If you’ve been to Talulah gorge, after crossing the suspension bridge you go down a couple of hundred steps until you get to the base of the gorge.  That’s just the beginning of the journey....

So, this week on Tuesday, I was driving back from NY to Indy in my 15 passenger van with my wife and 6 of our children. We started out about a quarter to 4am leaving from Brooklyn. All was well and we were making good timing. We would have arrived in Indy about 6:30...

I always thought it was a wrecking ball, but apparently there is a wrecking bar too. We just called it a crow bar. Anyway, it’s used to remove nails, or do some serious damage. If you do damage to repair; eg. break a hole in a wall to install some new plumbing or...

What happens when one doesn’t see any good in themselves? They stop seeing the good in others. At our core, we possess a G-dly soul.  We each have our complexities and struggles that contribute to how that soul gets manifested or concealed.  Regardless...

“I have principles, and if you don’t like them, well, then I have others.” Rather unprincipled, I would say. Standing up for one’s beliefs is not always easy, and often results in challenges and disagreement. Naturally, others will prefer to deal with someone more...