Kol haOlam kulo gesher tzar me’od (Our whole entire world is a narrow bridge)  V’ha’ikar, v’ha’ikar, lo l’fached klal (And the whole point, and the whole point, is not to fear) These words come to us from Nachman of Breslov, set to music by Shlomo Carlebach.  Nachman and Shlomo taught that even when our world… Continue reading Rosh Hashanah 2013/5774: The Bridge from Fear to Joy

I published this letter with Rabbi Shohama Harris Wiener after the January 13 vandalism of our Temple Beth-El of City Island (New York). At a recent gathering of rabbinical, cantorial and rabbinic pastor students, Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi reminded that it’s okay to view a synagogue as a business — so long as we know what… Continue reading A response to synagogue vandalism

Shanah tovah.  I hope your new year is dawning bright and sweet. It’s a particularly fitting time of year for getting back to basics – the essence of who we are and whom we aspire to be, the essence of our relationships and the truth of our lives.  God, growth and new life always call… Continue reading Rosh Hashanah 2011/5772: Shanah, Shinui, Shoneh — Year, Change, Difference