By Rabbi Olivier BenHaim, Bet Alef Meditative Synagogue Our tradition assumes the possibility of four different levels of interpretation to any text, from the literal to the esoteric. One of these levels, the allegorical level, allows us to understand our Biblical stories as universal archetypes relating to the human spiritualContinue Reading
By Rabbi Mark Spiro, Living Judaism Obese Ohio man found fused to chair he sat in for 2 years A morbidly obese Ohio man was in the hospital Tuesday after police found him fused to a chair he had not moved from in two years and were forced toContinue Reading
By Rabbi Seth Goldstein, Temple Beth Hatfiloh Here is a scenario: A synagogue is faced with a tight budget. Examining its options, the board of the congregation decides not to do any additional fundraising, but instead decides to just cut programs. Doesn’t sound too realistic? As a congregational rabbi myself,Continue Reading
By Rabbi Shaul Engelsberg, Derech Emunah Seattle Jewish Girls High School My wife’s grandfather, Mordechai Szimonowitz, survived World War II. When the Nazis forced all the Jews of Budapest, Hungary to move into the ghetto, Zeide — as we called him — was able to procure false identification papers andContinue Reading
By Rabbi Moshe Kletenik, Va’ad HaRabanim of Greater Seattle This Shabbat we will to begin to read and study the Book of Shemot. It is the book of slavery and of redemption, of Torah and of Mishkan — the beginning of Peoplehood. The Midrash attributes our redemption from bondage to our meritContinue Reading
By Rabbi Adam Rubin, Congregation Beth Shalom While most Americans are religious — the great majority of our fellow citizens continue to assert a belief in the Divine (though this has declined in recent years, according to most surveys) — it’s how we’re religious that I find interesting. In orderContinue Reading
By Rabbi Bernie Fox, Northwest Yeshiva High School Jewish education should no longer be marketed as the foundation of Jewish continuity. I have been professionally engaged in Jewish education for over 35 years. Until recently, I believed that we should promote intensive Jewish education as the only proven means ofContinue Reading
By Rabbi Yohanna Kinberg, Congregation Kol Ami For my house shall be called a house of prayer for all people. — Isaiah 56:7 For the past 15 years, Congregation Kol Ami in Woodinville has shared space with the Bear Creek United Methodist Church (BCMU) — at one time out ofContinue Reading
By Rabbi Ben Hassan, Sephardic Bikur Holim What is Yom Kippur? What does a Day of Atonement mean? Does it mean we can come to synagogue, say some prayers, and fast one day a year so we can run wild the other 364? And then come back next year toContinue Reading
By Rabbi Oren Hayon, Hillel at the University of Washington We call God by many names — practically as many names as there are human experiences of the Divine. Literally dozens of metaphors for God fill the pages of our sacred scriptures and our prayer books. We call God shepherd,Continue Reading
By Rabbi Harry Zeitlin, Congregation Beth Ha’Ari You don’t need a rabbi to let you know which way the wind blows — the world is in crisis. Massacres in Syria and Iraq and Nigeria and Mali, regional wars between Russia and Ukraine, renewed race riots in the United States, muchContinue Reading
By Rabbi Jason Levine, Temple Beth Am Who says that we only get one chance for a first impression? We are currently in the midst of reading D’varim, the book of Deuteronomy, the final book in the Torah. The crux of this book is a series of farewell addresses byContinue Reading
Rabbi Berele Paltiel Chabad of Snohomish County Just over two years ago, my wife Goldie and I with our two little girls moved from New York City to Edmonds, Wash. to run the Chabad of Snohomish County. It has been an exciting two years, meeting many wonderful people while learningContinue Reading
By Rabbi Jaron Matlow, Special to The Jewish Sound In the last few years, the ugly specter of suicide has popped up twice in my extended family. In both instances, thank God, the attempts were unsuccessful. Both were cases of despondency over poor health and fear of the unknown givenContinue Reading
By Rabbi Bruce Kadden, Temple Beth El Earlier this month we celebrated Shavuot, the holiday of “matan Torah,” the “giving” or “gift” of Torah. It had special meaning for our family this year because our first grandchild, Matan Aviv Ballon, was born on May 5, which was not only CincoContinue Reading
By Rabbi Jessica Kessler Marshall, Temple Beth Or I sat listening as a group of friends shared about their lives: One had an 85-year-old father who had just been diagnosed with cancer. My friend faced the uncertainty of his dad’s surgery and personal guilt that he lived far away, thusContinue Reading
By Rabbi Elie Estrin, Chabad at the University of Washington A schoolchild approaches his father, who is deeply engrossed in his newspaper. The kid asks, “Dad, what’s the difference between ‘ignorance’ and ‘apathy?’” Responds the visibly annoyed father: “I don’t know and I don’t care!” That joke might be oldContinue Reading
Rabbi Rick Harkavy, Bet Chaverim Congregation of South King County Before I was ordained, my entire rabbinical class met and discussed the Jewish influences within our lives that encouraged us to become rabbis. My colleagues spoke about the positive difference Jewish camps and Jewish youth groups and trips to IsraelContinue Reading
Rabbi Rachel Nussbaum, The Kavana Cooperative The sun is shining, matzoh is out on the grocery store display shelves, and it’s clear that Pesach is on the way. Time to prepare! For the past two years, I’ve been enjoying a haggadah that’s new to the scene: “The New American Haggadah,”Continue Reading
Rabbi Berry Farkash, Chabad of the Central Cascades It was a spring evening in the mid-’60s; a group of young students from NYU came for a private audience with the late Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson. The group was mostly young boys and girls from secular homes who wantedContinue Reading
