As I was preparing for my annual journey to the Holy Land, it was apparent that Stanley was starting his journey to heaven. It was exactly eight years since we’d first spoken. Prior to my introductory Shabbat at Congregation Tifereth Israel, I called him to discuss the order of the service at this shul. He [...]
On a recent Shabbat, we began again to read the Book of Exodus, the story of a minority — a small sector of society — that somehow threatened the Egyptian hunger for globalization. This is how the story of slavery begins — large entities trying to wipe out the identities of smaller or marginalized groups [...]
Recently, I was privileged to be invited to the 11th annual Congressional bipartisan Hanukkah celebration at the Library of Congress. I met our Congressman, Lee Zeldin, and Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who mutually hosted. I also met again a colleague and a Jewish Theological Seminary graduate, Chaplain (Col.) Rabbi Larry Bazar, who gave the benediction. [...]
A few days ago, I went to see the Yiddish version of “Fiddler on the Roof,” now playing off-Broadway at Stage 42. Last year, I saw the Broadway version in English. The story is the same, of course, but the flavor is very different. While the English version was riveting and entertaining, the Yiddish authenticity, [...]
“If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything,” said Alexander Hamilton. Every year that we stand before God to give an accounting for the previous year, we also make a promise for the following year. But what do we stand for? Let us pose a simple question: Did we fulfill our obligations in respect [...]
Reflecting on my seven years at Tifereth Israel, it has been a dance. The shul family has been with each other in sorrow and in joy, and at all the times in between. I acknowledge how appreciative I am to have been so warmly embraced. Thank you so much for making me part of your [...]
We tend to attribute the fatherhood of modern capitalism to Adam Smith, who wrote The Wealth of Nations originally as a mere guidebook. In essence, Adam Smith’s philosophy was to let the markets regulate themselves or, as we commonly refer to this idea, to perpetuate a free economy. My finance professor back in business school, Dr. [...]
In a few days, it will be seven years since I began serving as the rabbi of Congregation Tifereth Israel. When I decided to make the change from corporate to the rabbinate, I did it not because I didn’t enjoy the work I was doing; on the contrary, it was gratifying in many ways. I did [...]
Last Wednesday evening at Christie's in New York, a 1986 sculpture by Jeff Koons, “The Rabbit,” sold for $91 million. A playful, stainless steel, faceless rabbit, just over three feet tall, which has not been publicly exhibited for more than 30 years, became the most expensive work by a living artist ever to sell at auction. Christie's had described the sculpture as “…one [...]
There are times in life when an event so compelling takes place that we are obligated to document it and keep it for future generations. Such an event is the exodus from Egypt, the story we relate over and again, year after year, at the Passover Seder. So how did the Jewish people keep the [...]
