This week, in Parashat Va’etchanan, Moses is again denied access to the Land of Israel despite his persistent prayers, but he is permitted to peer across the river to the “land of milk and honey.” He speaks to the Israelites and reinforces the importance of keeping the Commandments whe…
This week we begin reading from the book of Deuteronomy, a special marker in the history of our people. The Israelites are completing their journey through the wilderness, having spent 40 years creating a community, a people. Moses, who has learned he will not be permitted to enter the Promi…
Parashat Masei, which we read this week along with Matot, wraps up Bamidbar, the Book of Numbers. We recount the 40 year trek from Egypt to Israel and the more than 40 specific stops the Israelites made along the way which marked that incredible experience. It is hard to imagine what went …
Moses spoke to Adonai, saying, "Let Adonai, Source of the breath of all flesh, appoint someone over the community who shall go out before them and come in before them and who shall take them out and bring them in, so that Adonai's community may not be like sheep that have no shepherd." (Numb…
I prepared this message before the world learned of the horrific attack in Nice, France, that took the lives of over 80 people, a large proportion of whom were children. Once again, the flow of tears washes over us as we try to make sense of the continual display of hatred in our world. Our …
