Over the past few weeks, stories have been shared from family members of the hostages in Gaza who have been released. One story that has stuck with me is that of Emily Hand. Emily was the hostage who turned 9 years old while in captivity. Emily was at a
Dear Friends, This week’s parsha, Vayeitzei, opens with another life changing experience for our forefathers. Jacob has departed from Beersheba and decides to rest. He uses a stone as a pillow and goes to sleep. He dreams of a ladder that is grounded on Earth and stretches up to
Those who know me well know that I am incredibly uncomfortable expressing my feelings. Playing "Would You Rather" makes me cringe. However, today, I want to be a little more vulnerable than I usually am. I want to explain my current state of mind. As most of you know,
Take a deep breath. Hold it… and now exhale. We just made it through a meaningful fast and period of self-reflection. And now, we get our “Jewish whiplash” and embark on our celebration of Sukkot. This holiday is unique in its rituals, among them the waving of the Four
In this week’s parsha, Eikev, we continue with Moses’ speeches to the Israelites. He tells them that, if they maintain their covenant with God by observing the commandments, God will, in turn, make them fruitful and victorious over their enemies. Moses recalls the hardships the Israelite people faced during
You may have picked up from previous Shabbat Shalom messages, I stream a whole lot of TV. It’s one of the few things that let me truly decompress and allows my mind to focus on things other than the chaos of day-to-day life. This weekend I found myself watching
I will be the first one to admit there are many things that I am absolutely petrified of. Having my blood taken is the perfect example. I have built it up in my head some much that even the sight of someone having their blood taken turns me green.
I must admit, I am excited about the prospect of a week where we finally experience weather that isn’t crummy. I am trying to figure out how to be outside for a couple of hours soaking in some much-needed sun. My kids want to know why we put up
Spring break…whoooo! I know half of our community is just concluding their spring break while the others had an opportunity to experience last week. If my research is correct, spring break dates back to the 1930s when Colgate University brought their swim team to Fort Lauderdale for training in
I love a specific meme entitled “How Every Game of Monopoly Ends.” The five-second video clip shows a young man enraged slamming his hands on the table and then throwing the game board across the room. My first response was a chuckle, but then I thought how true it
