Many of us spend hours preparing for the “physical” i.e. food parts of the Seder. However, we do not spend nearly enough time getting ready for the “spiritual” experience of the seder, which is accomplished through recitation of the Haggadah. I would like to spend the...

(Adapted from Creativity without Bounds by Rochel Holzkenner) This week we read the last parshiyot of the book of Exodus. The Jewish people were called upon to donate both their time and talents to help build the Mishkan. In Judaism, we believe that we use the heart...

When we think about the Purim story, we immediately think of the central element of the plot, how the Persian Jews were saved through the action plan of Esther. But like all of Tanach, there’s more than one lesson, and when we look again at the characters and the plot...

The highlight of our parsha is the Jews receiving the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. The fourth commandment is:  “Remember the Sabbath day….Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do...

This week, to commemorate, International Holocaust Remembrance Day, I would like to share a blog post from Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks written in the blog of Times of Israel. Remember the past to build the future.

Parshat Bo details one of the most critical events in Jewish history – the Exodus from Egypt/Yeziat mitzrayim. It is the beginning of the formation of the Jewish nation. Immediately after this monumental event, Moses begins with the task of educating and teaching...

In the course of the Torash reading, we are told about Pharaoh’s repeated rejections of the Jew’s request to go free. Three different verbs are used in this week’s Torah portion centering on the plagues to indicate the hardening of the Pharoah’s heart: Kasha (k-sh-h),...