Since my Dad’s death, there have been numerous times I’ve thought about calling him to tell him about something funny that happened. I’m grateful to have been able to visit him more since moving to New Jersey, and I’m indebted to the members of my community who have comforted me with many acts of kindness. At the halfway point of shloshim, the first thirty days of mourning, I’ve begun to write my next article for…
Rabbi's Message
Participating in the Writers Circle of The Wisdom Daily and attending monthly TWD Editorial Meetings has helped me maintain my writing practice and grow as a writer. As the year draws to a close and we begin to shape what the Writers Circle will be in 2027, I’m honored to share links to the articles I wrote during the past five months: True Stories of Supermoms (October 8, 2026) a lightly edited version of the…
As April draws to a close, I’m reflecting on my first four months as a member of the Writer’s Circle of The Wisdom Daily. I am reminded that last April I cross-posted an article I wrote for TWD to this blog, which their editorial staff had titled, A New Jersey Rabbi & Rumi. This year, I’m delighted to share my April 2026 TWD article, which includes 2 poems that I wrote in honor of the…
Tomorrow morning we will read from two sifrei torah~Torah scrolls, as we observe the third of four shabbatot leading up to Passover, Shabbat Parah. The title of this Shabbat refers to the cow~parah that is described in Numbers 19 as a red heifer. It is sacrificed and, after it has been completely burnt on the altar, its ashes are gathered by “a man who is pure” (Num 19:5), who leaves them outside the camp in…
Stuck home this past snowy Monday morning, I began making plans. In between scheduled Zoom meetings and rescheduling in-person meetings to Zoom, I bundled up in layers upon layers, placing thermal-lined mittens over thinner, fleece gloves, and went outside to clear a path from the front porch—down the side of the driveway—to the sidewalk. I was motivated by the need to leave my house Tuesday morning. I was determined to help Henry (pictured above, indoors)…
Hanukkah has long been my second-favorite holiday, right after Sukkot, the festival Hanukkah was modeled on, at least liturgically. I’ll tell you more about that in a moment. First, I want to share what I remember about celebrating Hanukkah more than 40 years ago, before it was relegated to second place. I remember learning the stories of the brave Maccabees and the miracle of the oil from a hardcover children’s book that was published before…
Tuesday, August 12th: It’s exactly two months since the moving van arrived from Atlanta and, though the garage is still half-filled with boxes, I’m finally feeling settled in our new home and settling into a joy-filled morning routine. This includes reciting blessings of gratitude for being alive to witness the beauty in our little patch of Eden in Marlton. Yesterday, while the arborist trimmed the broken branch of the purple leaf plum tree that grows…
Parashat Hukkat: Adulting Isn’t Easy (originally appeared in the the Jewish Community VOICE, June 25, 2025) Immediately following the death of Miriam, the Israelites find themselves in the wilderness without water and begin complaining to Moses: “Why did you bring us up from Egypt to this bad place? It’s not a place of seed and fig and vine and pomegranate, and there’s no water to drink!” (Num 20:5) Moses and Aaron come before the people…
Shavuot 5785 Yizkor Sermon – Tuesday, June 3, 2025 (written text was revised June 8th to include unscripted remarks from that morning) Before I share the words I had prepared, I want to mention that I prepared them before I heard the news of the attack in Boulder, Colorado. I generally don’t check the news or use my phone during shabbat and yom tov, but I checked early this morning to see if there were…
In the afternoon on March 30th, just before the start of National Poetry Month, I was waiting nervously to be invited to share a poem I’d written about being the new rabbi here at CBT. For me, offering divrei torah, words of Torah, or iyyunei tefilah, insights about the prayers, from the bima at CBT is a cake-walk compared to offering a poem in a Zoom room of poets, even though I’ve spent countless hours…