Aside from the sukkah itself, the most distinctive feature of our Sukkot observance is the lulav and etrog — a bundle of plants used in worship throughout the holiday. These four species, arba’ah minim, are all plants that require much water and hence represent our pleas before God for sufficient rainfall during the rainy season that begins in Israel at this time of year. Of course, rain during Sukkot itself is not desirable if one wishes to eat or even sleep in the sukkah; t

We continue this weekend with our fall holiday season. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur have passed, and we pray that the hopes we carried into the new year will be fulfilled. It was wonderful to see so many of you at services, along with newcomers whom we hope will return. Our thanks go to Micah Fogel for leading portions of the service and organizing the honors, to Micah Kurtzman for his extraordinary shofar blowing — that final blast at Neilah surpassed even his past efforts —

One of the traditions of this season is the custom to visit the graves of our departed loved ones and offer appropriate prayers in their memory calling upon them to support our pleas for forgiveness and atonement of our sins. The custom of visiting the cemetery is mentioned already in the Talmud particularly as one of the practices followed on fast days. Fasts were decreed from time to time when there was an extended drought or some other disaster in a community. The Talmud g

In my role as program chair and, later, as one of the organizers of the Greater Carolinas Association of Rabbis’ Wildacres Interfaith Institute for many years, it was my pleasure and privilege to meet and host Dr. Amy-Jill Levine, then professor of New Testament at Vanderbilt Divinity School in Nashville, as one of our guest speakers. A-J, as she prefers to be called, was initially contacted as a recommendation by another Jewish New Testament scholar who had a prior commitmen

As we continue in this month of Elul, we are rapidly approaching Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year’s Day, most often characterized as Yom HaDin, the Day of Judgment. On that day, all creation passes under God’s staff, as it were. He judges all creatures; even the angels tremble. The great books are open before the Almighty Judge of all. We realize that we have written part of that volume ourselves — we’ve acknowledged our deeds, and each of us has signed it with our own sign

This coming week on Thursday and Friday we observe Rosh Chodesh Elul, the new moon for the final month of the Jewish year. Elul is considered a month of preparation for Rosh Hashanah and includes various rituals and practices to help us get ready for the High Holidays. Beginning on the second day of Rosh Chodesh which is actually the first of Elul (the first day of Rosh Chodesh is still the 30th of Av), the shofar is sounded each weekday at the conclusion of the morning servi

This evening at 8:15 we will be observing the major fast day of Tisha B’Av. The main feature of this service is the reading of the Book of Lamentations (Eicha in Hebrew). Tomorrow morning we gather at 7:00 for a morning service which includes the recitation of Kinot (Elegies, poems composed over the centuries lamenting various persecutions of the Jews). As you might imagine, given more than 2000 years to work on them, these works have become quite numerous. Volumes produced

Our Jewish calendar is remarkably full. We move through biblical festivals, rabbinic holidays, major and minor fasts, modern commemorations, and special Shabbatot that prepare us for what comes next. One could almost agree with the children’s song, yesh li chag yom yom (I have a holiday every day.) it feels as though every day carries its own sacred weight. What fascinates me is not only the variety of these observances, but the way the rabbis wove them into a continuous sp

One of the most incredible statements found in the Torah is in Exodus 36 where we read of the collection of donations from the Israelites for the building of the desert tabernacle. There is an overwhelming response to the campaign, so great that the chief artisans, Bezalel and Oholiab come to Moses and tell him that the people have donated too much, they ask Moses to tell the people to stop. Talk about miracles in the desert. This tops them all, an oversubscribed fundraising

Major milestones in a country’s history tend to awaken interest in the great events of the past. Commemorations vary from the local parade and the backyard picnic to major national happenings with concerts and fireworks, special programs and souvenirs. I pulled out of my bookcase this week, Time Magazine’s Bicentennial edition with a young Thomas Jefferson on the cover. In honor of the occasion, Time decided to set its various editors and writers the task of covering their us

Monday night, I was pleased to be the guest of the Midwest Consul General for the State of Israel, Elad Strohmayer, along with more than six hundred other supporters of Israel from nine midwestern states that the consul serves, at the annual Yom HaAtzmaut reception. The guests included elected officials, business leaders, faith leaders, and community partners from throughout the region. The event took place in Skokie at a large strictly kosher banquet facility near Mariano’s

A synagogue hires a new cantor. He has a gorgeous voice, but he’s… dramatic. Operatic. Every note is a production. The congregation starts to complain. So the president of the shul meets with him and says, “Cantor, the people love you, but they say your best piece — your absolute finest moment was last Shabbat. ”The cantor beams. “Really? Which piece?” And the president answers: “The Silent Amidah.” It’s an old joke, but for some people it is really the truth. It is during t

In a Yemenite Midrash by the 15th‑century sage Choter ben Shmuel, the author addresses us directly: “Dear reader of this derash, know that the scholars have set boundaries for us within that which exists, beyond which we cannot pass. And there is a law violated only by one who wishes ‘to rise up to the heavens or descend to the depths of the sea.’ Such a person believes things that are impossible. He exercises free choice — ‘each person has the ability’ — and becomes excited

Jews often say that whenever you have two Jews together, you are likely to have three opinions. We laugh because it’s true, but beneath the humor lies something profound. Judaism treats disagreement not as a flaw but as a sacred tool. We are urged to consider multiple possibilities for understanding any concept. There are countless commentaries on the biblical and rabbinic texts. A limitless God, we believe, would hardly limit divine words to a single meaning. Each of us hear

In a speech delivered in Boston in 1890, Mark Twain attempted to define what a true civilization is. Finding the task difficult, he proposed a simpler method: list everything that civilization is not, subtract those elements, and “call the remainder ‘real’ civilization.” Any society marked by human slavery, despotic government, entrenched inequality, brutal punishments, widespread superstition, pervasive ignorance, and the universal presence of dirt and poverty, he argued, co

In congregations that gather on Shabbat afternoon for Mincha, Maariv, and Havdalah, there is often a quiet, liminal stretch of time between the afternoon service and the moment when evening can properly begin. Communities fill that in‑between space with a light meal, the Seudah Shlishit, the third Sabbath meal, and a bit of learning. The most common text for that study is Pirkei Avot, the Ethics of the Fathers. Many traditional siddurim—including Lev Shalem—print Avot immedia

This coming Monday night and Tuesday is Lag BaOmer. Lag, lamed and gimel, represent the numbers 30 and 3, thus 33 days of the counting of the Omer, the days between the beginning of Passover and the observance of Shavuot, the 50-day period linking the Exodus from Egypt to the Revelation of the Torah at Mount Sinai. Lag BaOmer is not an official holiday, yet as with many traditions in Judaism it takes on the trappings of a holiday, with special customs and rituals that set it

Posted March 20, 2026 - Nissan 2, 5786 The last item on our agenda at the Passover Seder just prior to dinner is designated as “Korech,” better known as “Hillel’s Sandwich.” After completing the mitzvah of telling the story of the Exodus in various ways, we offer praise to God with the opening two Psalms of the Hallel prayers and a concluding blessing leading into the drinking of the second of the four cups of wine. At this point, we prepare for the festive meal. First, we wa

Originally Posted February 20, 2026 - 3 Adar, 5786 You may have noticed an article published last week in the Chicago Tribune by Adriana Pérez entitled “Human Composting Offers an Environmentally Friendly End. Some Are Pushing to Legalize It in Illinois.” Though this method of handling human remains is not presently offered in this state, as of last week, several companies who offer this service in Washington State where it has been legal since 2020, began offering logistica

Originally Posted February 27, 2026 - 10 Adar, 5786 This Shabbat, prior to Purim, is designated as Parashat Zachor. This is the second of the four special maftir readings and haftarahs preceding Purim and Passover at this season. “Zachor” means “remember,” the opening word of the maftir reading from Deuteronomy 25:17 – 19. “Remember what Amalek did to you on your journey, after you left Egypt…You shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!” This