Almost thirty-three years ago, I moved to Israel to begin rabbinical school. Just before I left, my mother gave me the name of a distant cousin, Mnashe, and encouraged me to contact him once I arrived. A few months later—after some gentle prodding—I finally visited him and his family. At the end of the evening, he handed me a gift: a Torah commentary written by his grandfather, Rabbi Eliezer Davidovits, who was murdered in the Shoah. Until then, this chapter of my family’s past was unfamiliar to me. I came to understand what the book represented and translated it into English for my rabbinic thesis. Since then, I’ve shared Rabbi Eliezer’s insights in sermons; his teachings continue to shape my rabbinate. Learning about Mnashe’s journey has touched me deeply. In one of our final conversations, he told me how, in June 1944, the Jews of his town were deported [...]

A More Satisfying Life We live in a time of increasing disconnection. There are many reasons for this: The addictive and often isolating effects of social media. The lingering emotional toll of the COVID-19 pandemic—especially the loneliness, anxiety, and uncertainty it brought. A political discourse that’s grown coarser, more divisive, and less compassionate. Whatever the causes, the effects are deeply concerning. Recent Gallup “well-being” surveys show that overall life satisfaction is at a 25-year low in America, with the steepest decline among those under 30. We are lonelier. More anxious. Less hopeful about the future. And perhaps most tragically, less empathetic. But our tradition offers us a path forward. At the very heart of the Torah—both literally and spiritually—is a verse from this week’s parasha, K'doshim, that holds the power to transform our relationships, our communities, and even our inner lives: לֹֽא־תִקֹּ֤ם וְלֹֽא־תִטֹּר֙ אֶת־בְּנֵ֣י עַמֶּ֔ךָ וְאָֽהַבְתָּ֥ לְרֵעֲךָ֖ כָּמ֑וֹךָ אֲנִ֖י יְהֹוָֽה׃ You shall [...]