From the Rabbi’s Desk – Archive

I grew up as one of two non-Catholic families in a very Catholic area. Our neighbors had first-born sons who were priests and daughters who were nuns. Phrases such as ...

One of the most often used of Halpern’s Rules is Rule #5: It’s All About the Words. That seems most logical given that, while originally strictly oral in nature, Judaism ...

It is not uncommon for the most interesting elements of a story in Tanach to be hidden in the words or in the names.  The knowledge we have of the ...

Anyone who has ever learned text with me knows that Halpern’s Rule #5 is, “It’s all in the words”. All too often we focus on the general meaning of what ...

For a very long time I have believed that life, the universe, and everything else can be explained by Star Trek and Star Wars. I had assumed that this was ...

Abraham and Lot part ways in a very amicable fashion because they have become so prosperous, they both need room to spread out.  Abraham gives Lot the choice of which ...

For those of you who have not heard, almost three weeks ago (October 5) I was in a rather nasty car accident. According to the Highway Patrol, when I lost ...

This is a paraphrase of the introduction I usually give right before the Mi Comocha: “Where ever we live, it is probably Egypt”. That is just one example of an unsustainable ...

On Yom Kippur we read the Book of Jonah, a text that is simultaneously incredibly simple and incredibly complex.  Perhaps that is why Jonah and Yom Kippur fit so well ...

In all my years in school, fully a period of decades, I had one homework assignment that was so unique and so pleasurable, I will never forget it. Nearly forty ...

While waiting in the airport recently, I had the distinct pleasure of overhearing an argument that I wish had been carried out in some other city.  Two sisters (I presume) ...

I had the pleasure of being at a Bar Mitzvah in Northwest Indiana last weekend, and, of course, there was the Bar Mitzvah of our own Abraham Levine just the ...

Some people view the Torah as a set of ancient rules, most of which have no relevance to them today. Granted, there are some ethical and moral statements: don’t murder, ...

It is traditional to read the Book of Ruth on Shavuot. The link between this Biblical heroine and the holiday we are celebrating is rooted in the giving of the ...

Recently, I found tucked in an old book a poem by Glen Downie – The creatures by glen downie.  This poem reminded me of a famous line from Hillel. If I ...