Blog

I don’t know about you, but I do not like using cruise control. I don’t trust it and it makes me feel uneasy. Only recently did Natan convince me to start using it for highway driving. And… much to my surprise, I have slowly begun to appreciate it… especially with all of the latest safety features in my minivan (another one of those things I never thought I would get!). In cruise control mode with radar and lane assist engaged, the...Read more...

Because I love Israel and care deeply for her wellbeing, 230 Reform rabbis and I from across North America joined our Israeli rabbinic colleagues and more than 150,000 Israelis in Tel Aviv to protest the radical judicial overhaul proposals that the current government, despite widespread opposition, is unabashedly and quickly pushing through the Knesset to become law.  If the four proposed “reforms” are passed in their entirety, they...Read more...

Each year, the Torah portion Mishpatim fills me with a pang of nostalgia. It brings me back to the very first sermon I ever wrote. It was February 2012 at Hebrew Union College, in Jerusalem. 

I remember it quite well because at that time, during the first year of Rabbinical School, students were required to write and deliver only ONE sermon, or D’var Torah. 

I remember the pressure and the anxiety that surrounded...Read more...

While I am fond of many parts of the Torah, it is this week’s portion, Parashat Beshalach, that speaks to me most. It is this week that the Israelites finally escape slavery after hundreds of years of servitude in Egypt and encounter the miracle at the Sea of Reeds when they flee. This parasha contains within it Shirat Hayam or The Song of the Sea. We know it by its familiar title, Mi Chamocha. And, because this special song is typeset in...Read more...

Unfortunately, the hateful virus of antisemitism has been the topic of many recent conversations.  As these conversations come up in the news, or in our lives, we can be at a loss for words. We might feel uncomfortable or scared or triggered. Despite all the years of antisemitism, at times we still do not know what is the “right” way to respond.

In this week's parasha Va’era, we read of the Egyptians who watched as the...Read more...

The very first choir I sang in was a children’s choir at Taylor Mills Elementary School in Englishtown, New Jersey. It was 1976, and I was in the second grade. We were singing a myriad of patriotic songs to celebrate our nation’s bicentennial year. (I still sing "Grand Old Flag" to my children on Flag Day as an homage to my 2nd grade music teacher). However, amid all of the fun and celebratory songs, we sang a song called “Abraham,...Read more...

I recently overheard a parent say to her child the following phrase, “Hope is overrated.”

Before I get to my response, let me set the stage. My family and I took a few days and headed to Florida for a Disney vacation. We skipped the parks, instead checking out the resorts. We found that resort hopping during the holiday break is, well, not a unique activity. In fact, we were joined by an exceptionally large group of people, making...Read more...

One year ago, my children lost their father unexpectedly to a heart attack. As with any death, especially the ones that shock us, they/we experienced a lot of chaos and disruption as we made plans to head down to Florida for his funeral.

After the meetings with funeral home and cemetery, we made our way back to our hotel. It was Chanukah and we had brought a Chanukiah with us to light while we were away. Sarah, Hannah, Hannah’s...Read more...

”Jacob had a dream in which a stairway (ladder) was set on the ground and its top reached to the sky, and angels of God were going up and down on it.” (Gen 28:10).

It is likely many of us have encountered depictions of this verse in this week’s Torah portion at some point in time. Various prose and poetic interpretations as well as artistic paintings, drawings, and sculptures have all contributed to our mental pictures of what...Read more...

How grateful and how appreciative am I that so many of you came out to celebrate both our strength as a synagogue and my installation as one of your Senior Rabbis. It has also been so heartening to hear from many of you who could not attend in person – some watching online and some just sending congratulatory notes via text and email. Your words have been very well received.

As I reflect upon this past Friday night, I have concluded...Read more...

Hi! I'm Avery Lyla Friedman, a proud Marylander who never imagined working in the Jewish community. Growing up I did everything possible to avoid temple and organized Jewish life, but a few years into college I realized how important and impactful the Jewish...Read more...

I recently watched a video about a young curious woman eager to learn the secrets of creation and the universe. 

While in her room one night, surrounded by mementos of her heroes, she stares up at the stars and wonders: How did it all start? 

While we might not have all the answers to these foundational questions, this week's Torah portion Bereshit gives us a point from which to begin. 

In our...Read more...

This past Shabbat – Shabbat Shuvah, the Shabbat between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur – I was privileged to take many of our high school seniors to New York for a weekend of bonding and learning. We took in several of the important sights – Ellis Island, the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, the World Trade Center Museum and Memorial, to name a few. And we ate the iconic foods – Chinese food in Chinatown, pasta in Little Italy, street...Read more...

“I cannot believe Rosh HaShanah is here again!” I've been repeating this sentiment over and over this past week. And although we are grateful to have made it through the ups and downs of another year, the holidays always seem to come out of nowhere. They remind us that there is much healing to be done in our personal lives, as a synagogue community and in the world at large.

Capitalizing on this sentiment, Rabbi Alan Lew...Read more...

Having entered the month of Elul, the Hebrew month that precedes our High Holy Days, it would be wise to keep in mind the custom of approaching these days with intentionality and reflection. Anew this month I began to explore the difference between a wish and a prayer. And, as this is Elul, a thought began to emerge.

In the end, what separates a wish from a prayer is the point to which it is directed. After all, wishes are magic and...Read more...