- Sep2024
Ask Rabbi Goldstein
September 22, 2024
Ask Rabbi Goldstein Countdown to 5785. We look forward to it with joy (dipping apples in honey) and a bit of dread (so many hours in shul). But, nobody thinks more about the Days of Awe than Rabbi Goldstein. What is he thinking? Why should we care about the High...
Cheshbon Hanefesh
September 1, 2024
This has been a rough year for the Jewish people. After seeing something like this, it gives us pause to wonder what will become of the human race. It makes us worry for the world we will leave for our children and their children after them. There is a rabbinic...
- Aug2024
65 Days Away From the New Year
August 1, 2024
Over 60 days! If you’re reading this on August 1st, we are more than 65 days away from the new year, Rosh Hashanah. It’s a weird thing about the holidays. When talking about when the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur fell on any given years, most of us will say...
- Jun2024
Not “Goodbye” but “Be Seeing You”
June 9, 2024
Not “Goodbye” but “Be Seeing You” My dear Am HaYam Family, Our tradition teaches: kol hat-cha-lot kashot, “all beginnings are difficult.” This phrase has been something that many speakers, ancient and modern, religious or secular, have used. I myself have said it many times. But as I prepare to end...
- May2024
The Value of the Violin in You
May 1, 2024
The Value of the Violin in You The story is told of the great Jewish-born violinist Fritz Kreisler (1875-1962).[1] Some critics had suggested that the only reason he made such beautiful music was because of the Stradivarius he played. So on one particular concert night, Kreisler enraptured the audience with...
- Apr2024
A Passover Lesson: Don’t Let Opportunities Become Chametz Why did the matzah quit his job?.…Because it didn’t get a raise. What army base is off limits on Passover?.…Fort Leavenworth. Why did the matzah go to the doctor?.…Because it started feeling crumby Why did the matzah baker rob the bank?….He needed...
- Mar2024
Purim: We’re Still Here
March 1, 2024
Purim: We’re Still Here The Purim story ominously portrays a serious and massive antisemitic event. And while the biblical book of Esther is a work of fiction, its story has shaped Jewish consciousness and our approach to antisemitism. Let’s begin by acknowledging that this austere and grim tale is...
- Feb2024
The Witness of Conscience
February 5, 2024
The Witness of Conscience Our tradition tells of a certain rabbi with a strict sense of justice. Far and wide he was known as an incorruptible judge. One day his own wife raised an outcry because she believed that the housekeeper had stolen a piece of jewelry that was of...
- Jan2024
STARTING OVER
January 1, 2024
STARTING OVER Every morning, weekday or Shabbat, we Jews traditionally praise G!d as m’chadesh ma’asei v’reishit, “the Renewer of Creation.”[1] G!d fashions something new each and every day. That includes renewing us, so that we can live out in wholeness what life may bring us this, and every, day. We...
- Dec2023
The Menorah, the Maccabees, and Us: A Spark of the Divine
December 1, 2023
The Menorah, the Maccabees, and Us: A Spark of the Divine On Hanukkah the central religious action we undertake is the lighting of the candles. The tiny candles have always stirred powerful feelings among us. As Dr. Paul Romanoff[1] wrote: For centuries the Menorah burned constantly. In its light...