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A very noteworthy incident took place last weekend, though it was significantly overshadowed by the 10th anniversary of 9/11. An angry mob attacked the Israeli embassy in Cairo, breached the security wall, and advanced on six Israeli diplomats with one goal in mind. The Israelis barricaded themselves in a room with only one locked door […]

A few summers ago, I had the pleasure of attending a wedding in which the only people I knew were the family of the bride.  At the meal, I found myself sitting at a table of people I had never met.  In an attempt to be friendly to the man seated next to me, I […]

Parents have let out a collective sigh of relief.  The new academic year has started and, thank God, the kids are back in school.  It is amazing that, at the end of the school year, parents are so grateful to have a reprieve from supervising homework, making lunches and driving carpools.  By the end of […]

Maybe it’s a coincidence, but I hope it is much more than that. I sat down to write my weekly “From the Rabbis Desk,” but procrastinated for a moment to see what Rabbi Broide wrote about in his outreach column. Low and behold the same thing is on both of our minds and likely on […]

As we often say, BRS is not just a Shul, it is a community. Our goal is to cultivate a culture in which people don’t feel I am a member of BRS, but rather, I am a member of the BRS community. What is the difference between being a Shul and being a community?   […]

Two recent horrific tragedies, the murders of Leiby Kletzky and Rabbi Elazar Abuchatzeira, continue to devastate the Jewish community. Many of us are filled with questions, not only about how this could happen to the victims, but about the identity of the perpetrators themselves. It is hard to remember a time in which a so […]

As my family’s summer vacation winds down there are two transitions we must face, one much more difficult than the other. Firstly, we are heading back to real life including work, obligations, responsibilities, etc. This adjustment pales in comparison to the second change, namely leaving Eretz Yisroel, our people’s beloved and precious homeland, the holiest […]

We live in a sound bite, news junkie generation in which we are constantly bombarded with information and updates. The positive of this culture is our access to current events in real time and our acute awareness of happenings around the world as they unfold. The negative of the short news cycle generation is how […]

The tragic murder of Leiby Kletzky has left all of us filled with questions, doubt and intense grief and sadness. A beautiful, innocent, sweet 8 year old boy was abducted and gruesomely murdered. As the facts emerge, too graphic and horrific to mention in this public space, I can’t comprehend how the Kletzkys, Leiby’s parents, […]

Walking around Israel, one can’t help but observe how it seems that we in chutz la’aretz are more concerned about the future of Israel than the Israelis themselves. Sure, they are aware of the threats that face them on many fronts. Of course, they are familiar with the impending attempt to unilaterally declare a Palestinian […]