Welcome to Shabbat Awakenings, a weekly reflection as we make our way toward Shabbat.   Zero Intolerance.   History does not remember well a leader of his people who rallied fear against outsiders. In this week’s Torah portion, the Israelites continued their trek and had to travel through territories controlled by other peoples. In last […]

  Welcome to Shabbat Awakenings, a weekly reflection as we make our way toward Shabbat. Complaining is a key leitmotif, a reoccurring theme, of the Book of Numbers. As our ancestors, the Israelites, march through the wilderness on a circuitous path, they engage in magical thinking, sure that slavery in Egypt could not outshine the […]

  Welcome to Shabbat Awakenings. This week, the portion is out of order. Two weeks ago, I shared with the Qabbalat Shabbat congregation my reflections on my anniversary of 30 years in the rabbinate. I offer them to you, here. I have been reflecting on graduations and milestones these days. Last week, we watched as […]

Welcome to Shabbat Awakenings, a weekly reflection as we move toward Shabbat. Last night, we gathered for our Annual Gathering, a wonderful celebration in the life of the congregation. I share with you an excerpt of what I said: “We can surely be uplifted! Aloh na’aleh!” is the theme for our Annual Gathering. These words […]

Our minds play tricks on us. The distance of time and space deny us the reality of experience. As a result, we manufacture stories based on some of the truths of what we think we remember. The Israelites suffered a heavy dose of nostalgia in this week’s portion that led them down a grievous path […]