Tidbits of Torah

Shabbat Parashat Miketz Shabbat Rosh Chodesh Tevet – Day 1 Shabbat Chanukah – Day 6 Recalling Our Dreams

Posted on December 3, 2021

Dear Friends, This Shabbat we celebrate Shabbat, Rosh Chodesh and Chanukah!  Lots of joy and lots of hope!  And, we will enjoy the first of a three part presentation on Jewish Ethics by our own Rabbi Professor Dr. Richard Freund!  I hope you won’t miss this wonderful opportunity whether you are able to join us Continue Reading »

Shabbat Parashat Vayeshev Shabbat Mevarekhim HaChodesh Give it a Try!

Posted on November 26, 2021

Hopefully, you have enjoyed Thanksgiving and will continue having a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend as well. This Shabbat we will recite the blessing for the new upcoming Jewish month of Tevet.  Rosh Chodesh Tevet will be a week from now, on Friday night, Saturday and Sunday and, in anticipation of the new month of Tevet, we Continue Reading »

Shabbat Parashat Toledot Facing our Truth

Posted on November 5, 2021

Dear Friends, Why, of course, I tell the truth!  But, then again, maybe I bend the truth from time to time…. Judaism teaches us that God is Truth.   And yet, we humans, who are created in the image of God, don’t always tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.  Most Continue Reading »

Shabbat Parashat Chayey Sarah Shabbat Mevarekhim HaChodesh Seasons of Our Lives

Posted on October 29, 2021

Dear Friends, This Shabbat we will be reciting the prayer for the upcoming new Jewish month of Kislev. Rosh Chodesh Kislev will be on Thursday night and Friday of this coming week. And Chanukah will be celebrated beginning toward the end of the month of Kislev…May it be a month of joy, of good health, Continue Reading »

Shabbat Parashat Vayera Think Again!

Posted on October 26, 2021

Dear Friends, I love it when someone tells a story, leading us on to believe we know what the next chapter will be… and after a pregnant pause, they look us in the eye….and then they say: “Think Again!” We are often interested and surprised when the ending of a story is nothing like what Continue Reading »

Shabbat Parashat Lech-Lecha Be A Blessing!

Posted on October 15, 2021

Dear Friends, I so appreciate it when I hear the words: Have a blessed day! Truly, I appreciate it. Especially since Covid changed our lives so much, I have grown to appreciate the simplest kindly human interactions as enormously precious. Still, the phrase “Have a blessed day” often is meant to imply that blessing is Continue Reading »

Shabbat Chol HaMoed Sukkot Ending on a High Note and Beginning Again!

Posted on September 27, 2021

Dear Friends, If this is Shabbat Chol HaMoed Sukkot (the Intermediate Shabbat of Sukkot), then Simchat Torah must be right around the corner! And it is!!! On this coming Tuesday morning we will gather for our Shmini Atzeret service and Yizkor, and that night, on Tuesday night, we will gather for our evening Simchat Torah Continue Reading »

Shabbat Parashat Ha’azinu More Holidays? Sukkot Tips!

Posted on September 17, 2021

Dear Friends, From Yom Kippur, we race right into Shabbat, and then right on into Sukkot! On the High Holy Days our liturgy was exceptionally lengthy. It gave us time for introspection. It gave us time to contemplate our lives. But change is in the air! Now that the High Holy Days are over…everything moves Continue Reading »

Shabbat Parashat Vayelekh Shabbat Shuvah Strength and Courage

Posted on September 10, 2021

Dear Friends, Shabbat Shuvah is the Shabbat of Repentance or, some might say, it is the Shabbat of Return. In any case, this special Shabbat helps us bridge the gap between Rosh HaShana, when we pray for life, and Yom Kippur, when we pray for greater insight as we move forward into the new Jewish Continue Reading »

Shabbat Parashat Nitzavim Shana Tova!

Posted on September 3, 2021

Dear Friends, It’s the last Shabbat of the Jewish Year! I take this opportunity to wish you and your loved ones a Shana Tova u’Metuka – a good and a sweet New Year, filled with joy, health, and happiness! It is also Labor Day weekend, so I hope you will enjoy this weekend too as Continue Reading »