The question for tonight's 5th candle is: What five people inspire you, or bring you light? One way we receive light in our lives is from people we admire. You might be impressed by someone’s courage or compassion or how they confront challenges. They could be people you know personally or someone you’ve not met. Having people in our lives who can be a Continue Reading
Israel’s “Secular High Holy Days”
Yesterday, May 4, 2022, is Yom HaZikaron, Israel’s memorial day. It is a national holiday that commemorates “fallen soldiers” – those that have given their lives for the county. And then within 48 hours, we celebrate Yom Ha’Atzma’ut, Israel Independence Day, which is today. During my year living in Israel for the first year of rabbinic school, we Continue Reading
In Memory of Those Who Dreamed of Kugel: Yom HaShoah
This week, we commemorate Yom HaShoah (April 28, 2022), Holocaust Remembrance Day. When we lived in Israel for a year, as part of my rabbinic training at Hebrew Union College, I was asked to participate in a ceremony remembering the victims of the Holocaust. The ceremonies for Yom HaShoah, many of which are centered around lighting 6 candles, one for Continue Reading
Never Again is Now
Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp was liberated on this day, January 27, in 1945. Today, the world remembers that 17 million souls, including one-third of the global population of Jews, were murdered in the genocide of the Nazi regime. How is it possible that such atrocities were committed? First, the Nazis began by portraying Jews and other Continue Reading