Last Shabbat, Rabbi Oded Mazor shared a powerful teaching with us about the plague of darkness that has stayed with me. The Torah doesn't just describe Egypt being plunged into darkness; it tells us something deeper — that in the darkness, people could not see one another. The verse reads: לֹא רָאוּ אִישׁ [...]

Recently, I purchased a Google Hub for our kitchen. The speaker is pretty good and it’s nice to be able to simply call out a request and have music fill the room (“Hey Google, play Hanan ben Ari” is a familiar refrain in our house). But the feature I’ve come [...]

A tyrant and a tyrannical regime oppress a people—stealing their dignity, robbing them of their freedom, ruling through fear and brutality. It happens in so many places, in so many ways. For years, for decades, the people endure. Somehow, they survive. Until finally, pushed to the breaking point, they raise [...]

This week’s Torah portion, the first in the Book of Exodus, includes one of the best-known moments in the entire Bible. וַיֵּרָא מַלְאַךְ יְהֹוָה אֵלָיו בְּלַבַּת־אֵשׁ מִתּוֹךְ הַסְּנֶה וַיַּרְא וְהִנֵּה הַסְּנֶה בֹּעֵר בָּאֵשׁ וְהַסְּנֶה אֵינֶנּוּ אֻכָּל׃ A messenger of God appeared to him [Moses] in a blazing fire out [...]

As 2025 draws to a close, I find myself reflecting on the profound blessing of synagogue community. What would we do without this place to gather—without a community that offers comfort in moments of loss, joy in moments of celebration, meaning in times of searching, and support when we [...]

As 2025 draws to a close, we are surrounded by invitations to look back. From "best-of" lists to music streaming services telling us our top songs and "listening age," secular culture nudges us to ask: How has this year shaped us? As Jews, we’re lucky; we get to do this [...]