Parashat Vayera: Our Responsibility for the Future
This week’s parasha, Vayera, carries a powerful theme of continuity. It speaks explicitly about our role as a link in the chain, urging...
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Nov 8
Parashat Lech Lecha: To Grow Up to The Heavens
Lech Lecha Go forth from your land, from the place of your birth, from your father’s home to the land I will show you. I will give this...
Nov 1
Parashat Noach: A Need for a Change
The two predominant stories in this week’s parashah, the well-known story of Noah and the equally famous tale of the Tower of Babel,...
Oct 16
Sukkot: Working Each Day to be Closer to the Lord
Sukkot, unlike the rest of the pilgrimage festivals, does not commemorate any specific historical event. On Sukkot, we rather celebrate...
Oct 13
Yom Kippur: A Meaningful Fast, a Significant Life Change
It was the time between Musaf and Mincha on Yom Kippur, and young Daniel Shapiro went to see his Rabbi. "Rabbi Pollak, you must help me....
Oct 2
Rosh Hashanah: Time for Great Decisions
Gathering once again in this beautiful Sanctuary, in this Beit Kneset, a house of assembly for so many years and a synagogue that has...
Sep 26
Parashat Nitzavim: We Were All There
On a flight to Buenos Aires, I once met a man who hugged me as if we had known each other our whole lives. I looked at him, and he...
Sep 19
Parashat Ki Tavo: The Value of Gratitude
A wealthy man left his office at the end of the day, as he usually did, and encountered a panhandler asking for alms. "Five dollars in...
Sep 12
Parashat Ki Tetze: Our Holy Camp
It is said that we should read the Torah trying to find some kind of connection with our daily lives, so that it becomes relevant and...
Sep 4
Parashat Shoftim: To Search for Justice or To Be Afraid of Our Reality
There are passages in the Torah that are very clear and hardly need to be interpreted in the light of our times. It should be enough to...
Aug 29
Parashat Re'eh: A Time for a Deep Self Reflection
Next Monday evening, Tuesday and Wednesday is Rosh Chodesh – the new moon. Now, the moon begins to wax again. Being in tune with the...
Aug 22
Parashat Ekev: To Forget and Forgive or to Remember Forever?
In our weekly parashah, Ekev, there are many precepts and commandments that Moses conveys to the people before leaving them beyond the...
Aug 15
Parashat Vaetchanan: A Living Human Tapestry
"Ushmartem va'asitem ki hi chokhmatchem uvinatchem le'einei kol ha'amim asher yishme'un et kol hachukim ha'ele." "We shall keep and do,...
Aug 8
Parashat Devarim: From Anguish to the Celebration of Continuity
Today we begin the last of the books of the Torah, Devarim or Deuteronomy, in which, as we have studied repeatedly, Moses begins his...
Aug 1
Parashat Matot-Masaei: The Value of Each of Our Journeys
This week we read two Parshiot: Parshat Matot and Parshat Masaei, thus concluding the fourth book of the Torah: Sefer Bamidbar. Parashat...
Jul 25
Parashat Pinchas: Making Difficult Moral Decisions
Let's recall the story of Pinchas, the priest who gave his name to the Parasha, the section of the Torah that we read this Shabbat and...
Jul 18
Parashat Balak: Knowing Who You Can Count on
Parashat Balak is the one where a prophet or sorcerer, who is not a member of the people of Israel, is tasked with cursing the people of...
Jul 11
Parashat Chukat: Learning to Step Aside
Parashat Chukat is a complicated parashah. It is the parashah in which Moses receives his punishment, which prevents him from entering...
Jul 4
Parashat Korach: Good Intentions for a Better Future
Who is Korach? Korach is that member of the people of Israel who, with all his material wealth, believes he can dazzle the people. He...
Jun 27
Parashat Shlach Lecha: Repairing the broken with Gold
There is a Japanese technique called kintsukuroi that celebrates the history of broken objects. When something breaks, we often regret...
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