Originally Published 1/23/2026 A few months ago, I wrote about the list of charges brought against the British monarch, George III, in 1776, as the central portion of the Declaration of Independence. I quoted my colleague Rabbi Gordon Tucker who had drawn some obvious comparisons between that list of grievances to policies that are being pursued by the current administration in this country. Reflecting on George III, I recalled that at a certain point his behavior manifested

Originally Posted January 16, 2026 In November 1967, the Ku Klux Klan placed a bomb at Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson, MS. They targeted the synagogue because its rabbi, Perry Nussbaum who had served the congregation since 1954 had been deeply involved in the civil rights movement, supporting black churches, marching with Dr. King and others, and had personally made weekly trips to check on individuals who were imprisoned some distance from Jackson for their roles in the

Originally posted on December 25, 2025 In 2010, during her confirmation hearings to become a justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, in a particularly contentious moment, Elena Kagan was asked by Senator Lindsey Graham what she was doing on a particular Christmas Day under discussion, to which she replied: “You know, like all Jews, I was probably at a Chinese restaurant.” Christmas presents an unusual challenge for many Jews, and, no doubt for other non-Christians, each year sin

Originally posted on December 12, 2025 ` At this week’s Board of Directors’ meeting for the Temple, it was formally announced that Micah Fogel would be assuming the chair of our Religious Committee as long-time chair Dave Fellman requested to step down from that position. Dave indicated that he will continue his involvement with some aspects of the committee’s work, but he felt it was time for someone else to take over the leadership of the committee. Many thanks to Dave who