Cantor's Blog

As chaos unfolded in our nation’s capitol yesterday, I was scheduled to meet with our sixth grade students over zoom. Instead of teaching my prepared lesson, their teachers and I decided to give them space to talk about the current events of the day and to offer a prayer for peace.

The song we sang, “Olam Chesed Yibaneh” by Rabbi Menachem Creditor, teaches that we must build a world from love. Rabbi Creditor wrote this song in...Read more...

2020 has been a difficult year for all of us. Jewish humor has often served as a coping mechanism in times of trouble. To lighten the mood this Hanukkah, here are some new verses for "I Had a Little Dreidel" that are especially relevant to the times we are living in:

It might seem a bit early to be thinking about Chanukah, but I want to talk about Chanukah in conjunction with something that is very current in our lives right now: The election.

Lighting Chanukah candles anytime after sunset is typically fair game. However, I learned while living in Israel that many observant Jews rush to light candles at the very first twinkle of stars in the sky. This way, they prolong the mitzvah of lighting...Read more...

D'var Torah, 7/10/2020

On the eve of our Independence Day Weekend, Disney+ gave our increasingly divided and troubled country a gift: The early release of the Hamilton movie, featuring a recorded performance...Read more...

When our second son, Evan Ariel, was born on February 26, I expected that we would be more or less homebound for the next few weeks. What I hadn’t anticipated was that the rest of the world would be joining us in our isolation. As challenging as these days of quarantine have been, I take comfort in the many ways that this strange time of separation have enabled us – however ironically – to come together.

These are just a few of...Read more...

‘Tis the season for holiday decorating and the retail frenzy that accompanies it. This year, it seems like stores are displaying more and more Chanukah items than ever before nestled amidst the ubiquitous red and green. From ritual items like menorahs and candles to festive dinnerware and spinning dreidel tops, Target, TJ Maxx, Bed Bath and Beyond, and your neighborhood drugstores have all of your holiday needs covered. And that’s not...Read more...

Last week, a young boy attended a riveting concert at Boston's Symphony Hall. He was so moved by the beautiful Mozart piece played by the orchestra that he uttered an audible "wow" at the end of the piece.  See the amazing video by clicking here.

Thanks to social media, a viral search to discover the boy's identity ensued. What they learned about the mysterious voice was nothing short of miraculous. Not only is he on the autism...Read more...

Esther tends to get the credit for being the heroine in the Purim story. After all, she was the one who saved the Jewish people from Haman’s evil plot. But Esther would never have been made queen had it not been for another woman who often gets over looked – Queen Vashti. Vashti was the one who took a stand and refused to be objectified by King Achasveros. She’s a hero of biblical portions for today’s #MeToo movement.

While...Read more...

Thank  you to all of you who helped make my installation service so special. For those of you who missed it, these are the words I offered in honor of the occasion:

It seems Beshert – meant to be – that I have landed here at Temple Israel. As many of you know, my first Jewish home was a different Temple Israel – Temple Israel of Great Neck, to be exact. It was there that I developed the foundation...Read more...

When I was a teenager, I visited Europe with my family. Among the sites we toured were several synagogues, including the Neve Shalom Synagogue in Istanbul. At the time, the congregation had experienced both a mass shooting and a bombing. In 1986, gunmen opened fire during a Shabbat service, resulting in the death of 22 individuals. In 1992, a bomb exploded at the synagogue. Fortunately, that there were no casualties...Read more...

The gates are closed, the month of Tishrei is over, and we have officially made it through another High Holy Day season. This week we celebrated Rosh Chodesh Heshvan, the beginning of the Hebrew month of Heshvan. Heshvan is affectionately nicknamed “Mar Heshvan,” which means “Sad Heshvan” in Hebrew. Heshvan is considered to be a sad month because it is the only month on the Hebrew calendar without a single Jewish holiday. Our next...Read more...

The Chasidic master Rabbi Yisrael ben Eliezer, known as the Baal Shem Tov, recounts a story of a boy who brought his flute to synagogue on Yom Kippur. The boy didn’t know the prayers, but was moved by the music and the spirituality of the service. At first, he sat in quiet frustration, unsure of how to express his connection with the liturgy. Towards the end of Neilah, the final...Read more...