With great joy and a smile both on my face and Judy’s face, we wish everyone a שנה טובה-a good and sweet New Year! The Congregation Am HaYam community has been so warm and kind in welcoming Judy and me to congregation, that means so very much to us. It...
My friends, Like everyone, I am beyond saddened and devastated by the news from the Annunciation Catholic School and Church in Minneapolis that reached us yesterday. At a time when we as Jews are entering the month of Elul and prepping for the High Holidays, news of yet another mass...
I live my life guided by a theme of my maternal grandfather. The theme he imprinted on my psyche is “10 minutes early, is almost late”. Now this flies directly in the face of the concept of “JST” or more commonly, “Jewish Standard Time”, where 20 minutes late is on...
A few words to share about Texas and its recent tragic events. My friends, On the 4th of July we celebrate the birthday of the United States. At times the word “United” feels like a reach. But in times of trouble, Americans have always looked after and cared for each...
As I sit down to write my article for the bulletin, I am realizing that this will be the last time I write to you as your rabbi. As I take my leave, I’d like to do one more teaching if I may. The rabbis tell us that whenever two...
Congratulations, you’ve finished your taxes for the year! You’ve filled out your paperwork and now you’re just waiting (wishing?) for that big tax refund you’re going to get! But how are you going to spend it? Even if you’re not expecting a refund from the IRS, if you had some...
Every year around this time things start to look a bit different. The days get longer, the sun gets a bit stronger and everywhere you go you can experience the sights, sounds, and smells of spring. Spring is a time of rebirth. This year we had one of the coldest...
When Adar enters, joy increases Talmud Bavli Ta’anit 29a At the end of February, we enter into a time of celebration and rejoicing as we dress up and observe the holiday of Purim. Purim is a holiday that commemorates reversals of fortunes. We celebrate that we survived another attempt to...
In a matter of days it will be the beginning of February and we will look to the prognosticator of prognosticators to tell us whether or not we have six more weeks of winter. I can say with a great amount of certainty that I would love to think that...
Shana tova, happy New year! Can you believe it’s 2025! If wishing a happy new year feels a bit redundant it might be because we just experienced the beginning of a new year as recently as October. As Jews, we are lucky. We get to celebrate New Year’s twice in...
