Whitewashing History

I was just looking at some pictures of a tour that I lead of Prague, Vienna and Bratislava; three places that were extraordinary centers of the Jewish community and Jewish learning. In Prague is found the Altneushul which has been in almost continuous use since about the 14th century. That is absolutely amazing to contemplate…

Where is Moses?

Pesach is approaching very quickly and in about a week we will be sitting around the table eating, drinking, reading, learning, teaching and questioning in fulfillment of the Pesach Seder. It is fascinating to note that if you look through the Haggadah there is a great personality who was the hero of the Exodus, and…

We Are All in Egypt!

As we are now preparing for Passover, of course, we begin to think about the exile in Egypt and about exile in general. When one becomes familiar with the Torah and with Judaism, one will observe that exile features frequently in the Torah. Adam and Eve are exiled from the Garden of Eden, Cain is…

Night and Day

In Jewish tradition every day starts in the evening. So for example, the Sabbath, Shabbat, starts Friday evening when the sun sets and it ends on Saturday when the stars come out. The Jewish 24 hour day extends from the beginning of the night till the beginning of night, so that the evening always proceeds…

Happiness, Not Comfort – Parshat Terumah 5773

“When Adar arrives we increase our happiness.” (Talmud, Ta’anit 29a) We have just entered the month of Adar beginning a season of joy and celebration that includes Purim and Pesach. I think it is pertinent to discuss how to actually achieve happiness. There is a verse in Psalms (105:3) which states,  “Happy is the heart…