ON THESE TEN DAYS OF REPENTANCE Why Gemar Chatimah Tova? Our tradition teaches that each of us is judged on Rosh Hashanah. Our fates are written in the “Book of Life.” Ten days later, at the end of Yom Kippur, those fates are amended or confirmed and they are “sealed” in the Book of Life. (BTW, […]
ELUL…A TIME TO REFLECT ELUL The moon is waning The month of Elul is starting to disappear. Selichot arrives this weekend. Rosh Hashanah is just two weeks away. We offer this week’s “Elul Thought” with the hope that each of us will find the moment to reach inside and reach beyond. In so doing, […]
ELUL …and counting The month of Elul – which began 10 days ago – is the month before the High Holidays. It is a time for reflection…a time of growth…a time of change. For the next few weeks, we will offer “Elul Thoughts” gleaned from other sources. We hope they inspire. Elul Thought #1 […]
After months of planning and design, this week we finally unveiled the new BRS website – www.brsonline.org We are very proud of its great features including a FAQ section for people who live here, those looking to move and those visiting. We have videos, podcasts, a blog, photo galleries, and much more. We have also […]
Imagine the following scene playing out on CSPAN: On a specific day of the year, the Supreme Court justices together with the member of Congress take copies of the United States Constitution and dance around the floor of the House of Representatives while singing, clapping and lifting the law books high in the air. With […]
Zman simchaseinu, Sukkos as a time of great joy, took on a whole new meaning this year with the announcement that Gilad Shalit will be released in the next few days. After 5 years languishing in a Hamas dungeon in an undisclosed location with absolutely no visits or contact from family, the people of Israel […]
We are living in a time and culture that promote happiness, satisfaction and indulgence. Indeed, we are regularly inundated with messages and marketing such as “obey your thirst,” and “just do it.” In that context it is particularly difficult and onerous to observe a fast and to resist the temptation for food and water for […]
This week, I received an email from one of the many Jewish organizations who have me on their list. The subject line was the usual Rosh Hashana salutation and well wishes. Indeed, the email began in the familiar fashion – “as the year comes to a close, it is natural for each of us to […]
On Thursday morning, together with close to 900 others Rabbis from across denominations, I participated in a pre-Rosh Hashana conference call with the President. As the operator of the call made introductory remarks, I was reminded of a great insight my colleague and good friend, Rabbi Gibber shared with me following last year’s call of […]
