A Shabbat Message
02/06/2026 09:43:46 AM
Shabbat Shalom
If you haven’t had the chance, click on this amazing story detailing the journey that the Israeli bobsled team took to qualify for the 2026 Olympics. I know what you’re thinking: Israeli bobsled? Olympics? A phrase...Read more...
A Shabbat Message
01/23/2026 10:02:24 AM
Shabbat Shalom
In the past two weeks I returned from parental leave, moved into a new house, and transitioned my boys to new schools. Half my belongings are still in boxes; the rest are scattered in temporary spots around a house that doesn’t quite feel like...Read more...
A Shabbat Message
01/16/2026 02:24:37 PM
Dear Friends,
Less than a week ago, Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson, Mississippi was firebombed. Two Torahs were destroyed, five more were damaged. This is a synagogue that was firebombed once before, by the Ku Klux Klan in 1967.
I...Read more...
A Shabbat Message
01/09/2026 06:03:15 PM
Shabbat Shalom,
Tomorrow, b’ezrat HaShem, God willing, I will be on a plane back to Israel. My first trip back to our ancestral homeland since living in Jerusalem 2018-2019. My plans for a trip to Israel have been thwarted a number of...Read more...
A Shabbat Message
12/12/2025 01:03:14 PM
Shabbat Shalom,
When I was growing up, my mother used to often say, “things change, you have to be flexible.” In retrospect, this was a more polite, distinctly Minnesotan way of saying “s**t happens,” but the message stuck.
When a...Read more...
A Shabbat Message
11/28/2025 04:41:52 PM
Shabbat Shalom,
We spent the last few days back in Minnesota celebrating Thanksgiving with my immediate and extended family. Growing up an hour and a half south of the Twin Cities, my family were usually the ones traveling north to see aunts, uncles, grandparents,...Read more...
A Shabbat Message
11/21/2025 02:39:03 PM
Dear Friends,
To be Jewish is to be one who gives thanks.
In the coming weeks, we'll read about Leah giving birth to her fourth son—more children than she...Read more...
A Shabbat Message
11/14/2025 11:07:26 AM
Shabbat Shalom,
This coming Sunday, a new Ken Burns documentary entitled “The American Revolution” will premiere on PBS. Burns is known for his long-form documentaries covering foundational American moments like Vietnam and the Civil War. His upcoming series on the...Read more...
A Shabbat Message
11/10/2025 10:48:38 AM
Dear Friends,
One of my teachers was once accused of being the rabbinic mouthpiece of a particular political party. His response stays with me years later:
The Torah has no party, no affiliation,...Read more...
A Shabbat Message
10/31/2025 03:34:58 PM
Shabbat Shalom,
Tuesday’s election may not be the most polarizing one of my lifetime, but it is certainly the most polarizing election for Jews in my lifetime. Never have I seen politicians so regularly address (or avoid addressing) Jews, Israel, and antisemitism. Our...Read more...
A Shabbat Message
10/24/2025 11:45:03 AM
Dear Friends,
Last week was a week of elation. Like many of you, I couldn't stop watching the coverage from Israel of the hostages coming home. Shofar blasts for Alon Ohel. Matan Zangauker hugging his...Read more...
A Shabbat Message
10/17/2025 01:51:32 PM
Shabbat Shalom,
This coming Wednesday we welcome in the new month of Cheshvan. Our ancient sages not-so-lovingly referred to this month as Mar-cheshvan, which means “bitter cheshvan.” After the month of Elul and its accompanying introspection, then the month of...Read more...
A Shabbat Message
10/03/2025 04:58:47 PM
זה היום עשה ה' נגילה ונשמחה בו
This is the day that the Eternal has made, let us revel and rejoice in it (Psalm 118:24)
Dear...Read more...
A Shabbat Message
09/26/2025 12:19:23 PM
Shanah Tovah,
One of my favorite traditions over the high holidays at B’nai Abraham is to sit in the sanctuary, where all of you sit, for the last hour of the upstairs service. Once the family service and the subsequent schmoozing has concluded, I...Read more...
A Shabbat Message
09/19/2025 12:15:26 PM
Dear Friends,
The Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidism, was deep in prayer one day when his disciples grew restless. They had finished their prayers hours ago, but he continued, seemingly oblivious. Eventually they left to take care of the day's...Read more...
A Shabbat Message
09/11/2025 01:28:24 PM
Shabbat Shalom,
Each Rosh Hashanah we proclaim, “הַיּוֹם הֲרַת עוֹלָם — Hayom harat olam! Today is the birthday of the world!” But the translation doesn’t capture the full meaning. The phrase is closer to: “Today the world is...Read more...
A Shabbat Message
09/05/2025 12:00:20 PM
Dear friends,
In my youth group days, we used to sing Harry Chapin's "Cat's in the Cradle"—a heartbreaking story of a father so consumed with providing for his family that he keeps missing the moments that matter. The father has all the right intentions, and...Read more...
A Shabbat Message
08/28/2025 03:56:10 PM
Shabbat Shalom,
Each Rosh Hashanah we proclaim, “הַיּוֹם הֲרַת עוֹלָם — Hayom harat olam! Today is the birthday of the world!” But the translation doesn’t capture the full meaning. The phrase is closer to: “Today the world is...Read more...
A Shabbat Message
08/21/2025 09:17:16 AM
At my college drop-off, it was an overcast fall, Minnesota day. We pulled up in front of my dorm and were greeted by some incredibly animated orientation leaders. I had not yet discovered coffee, but they clearly had....Read more...
A Shabbat Message
08/08/2025 10:22:30 AM
Shabbat Shalom,
Sometimes after I drop my daughter off at daycare, I treat myself to a quick breakfast at the Livingston diner. I’m there once every few weeks or so, and if I get the right server, I...Read more...
A Shabbat Message
07/29/2025 12:45:32 PM
Shabbat Shalom,
I’m coming to you a few days early with an important announcement:
The High Holidays begin this Saturday night.
Okay, I will be a little more precise. The High...Read more...
A Shabbat Message
07/25/2025 09:21:59 AM
Shabbat Shalom,
As I write this email, the scorcher is giving way to a short thunderstorm, which should eventually give way to our 85° equilibrium. Needless to say, Shabbat services will be indoors tonight, and as you...Read more...
A Shabbat Message
07/11/2025 09:41:07 AM
The Torah contains only two instances of an animal speaking in human language. The first occurs in Genesis 3, the well-trodden story of the Garden of Eden and the deceitful snake who tricks Adam and Eve into eating from the forbidden fruit.
The second occurs in this...Read more...
A Shabbat Message
07/04/2025 09:51:33 AM
Shabbat Shalom!
I hope you are enjoying this holiday weekend amongst your family and friends. The confluence of July 4th and Shabbat gives us an opportunity to reflect on what it means to be American Jews today. Each generation of Jews in this country have had significant...Read more...
A Shabbat Message
06/27/2025 11:08:19 AM
A Shabbat Message
06/23/2025 08:33:12 AM
Shabbat Shalom,
Last Friday night I began our Shabbat service with the words of Rabbi Donniel Hartman:
“I’m not sure if this is Day 616 of the war or Day 1.”
And he’s right. Day 616 is staggering; Day one is daunting. Daunting not because the...Read more...
A Shabbat Message
06/06/2025 01:43:55 PM
When I started learning Yiddish 14 years ago, as with any language, one first learns how to respond to the question: “How are you?” After the pleasantries of good, not good, so-so, we took a step deeper into broadening our...Read more...
A Shabbat Message
06/01/2025 11:15:32 AM
Dear Friends,
This week marks 600 days since October 7—600 days since Hamas’ terror attack, 600 days of captivity for hostages still held, 600 days of rising antisemitism worldwide. While we’ve made progress in dismantling Hamas and...Read more...
A Shabbat Message
05/23/2025 05:44:47 PM
Dear Friends,
This week marks 600 days since October 7—600 days since Hamas’ terror attack, 600 days of captivity for hostages still held, 600 days of rising antisemitism worldwide. While we’ve made progress in dismantling Hamas and...Read more...