D’var Torah for Pesach, 5784 The Three Needs of the Exodus
04/17/2024 01:27:08 PM
Free Yourself and Your Home of the...Read more...
Torah with Rabbi Rudin: Check out Rabbi Rudin's Hebrew and Torah classes!
04/17/2024 02:39:50 AM
Israel Solidarity Delegation Last Report
04/10/2024 10:11:33 AM
Our trip to partner community Ofakim
Resilience, Hope, Solidarity- Final Thoughts
Our group in front of the memorial mural of October 7th when fifty citizens of Ofakim lost their lives, many in the acts of defense that eventually drove the terrorists out of the city.
The shelter of anonymity...Read more...
Israel Solidarity Mission Part II -Southern Israel- Tears, Love, Determination
04/03/2024 10:36:57 AM
In this week’s Torah portion, Shemini, we relive the harrowing deaths of the projected future leaders of the nation, Aaron’s two sons, Nadav and Avihu.
Wise, kind, virtuous and gifted, the two young men approach the Holy of Holies without permission on the day when the Tabernacle is inaugurated. As divine flame emerges from the Holy of Holies to consume the offering outside on the altar, signaling the arrival of G-d’s...Read more...
Adath Shalom’s Israel Solidarity Delegation -March, 2024
03/26/2024 09:15:51 AM
Memorial at the Nova Music Festival Site
Four intense days of volunteering, supporting, bearing...Read more...
Parshat VaYikra- Hearing, Heeding and Doing
03/20/2024 09:39:07 AM
(G-d) called to Moses and spoke to him…
The first word of this week’s Torah portion, VaYikra, is one of the most immediate and evocative of the entire scripture. Take a look at the way it appears in every Torah scroll in the world:
VaYikra- G-d is...Read more...
Parshat Pekudei: Looking at Our Community Through the Eyes of a Guest
03/13/2024 10:34:12 AM
A few weeks ago, Rabbi Rafi Tvizer of Ofakim, Israel, part of a delegation to the Greater MetroWest Jewish Federation sent from the communities that had been devastated by the horrific events of Black Shabbat, arrived to stay with me for two nights as part of the home hospitality featured in these emotional and powerful delegations. I have known Rabbi Rafi- we met while both volunteering during cleanup from Hurricane Sandy when he was...Read more...
D’var Torah: VaYakhel- Our Tabernacle, Our Community, Our World
03/06/2024 09:28:24 AM
This Week’s Torah Portion Speaks About the Needs of Our Day
This week’s Torah portion describes the actual assembly of the Mishkan (Tabernacle), or wilderness sanctuary, which served as the spiritual center of the Jewish encampment on the way to the Promised...Read more...
Parshat Ki Tissa, 5784 - The Golden Calf and the Pattern of Brokeness -
02/27/2024 01:16:07 PM
A disturbing pattern appears throughout the Torah narratives.
At first, everything seems pristine and pure. G-d’s intention and plan moves forward to a stunning and holy conclusion- and then there’s a sudden dark turn that forces G-d’s hand as it were and a new, broken reality...Read more...
A Special Shabbat Guest, this coming Shabbat, 2/23-24
02/20/2024 09:03:21 AM
Dear Adath Shalom Mishpacha (family);
Rabbi Rafi Tvizer of Ofakim
We are all looking forward to an exciting upcoming weekend! Rabbi Rafi Tvizer from the “City of Heroes”, our Ofakim...Read more...
Tarshat Teruma - Building the Mishkan
02/13/2024 05:48:19 PM
A Message for Jewish Disabilities Awareness and Inclusion Month
Can you imagine a situation in which you make a donation to a worthy cause - only to be told, no thank you? We have enough?
That’s what...Read more...
Parshat Yitro - How Does the Covenant Work Exactly?
01/29/2024 09:59:23 AM
On the third new moon after the Israelites had gone forth from the land of Egypt, on that very day, they entered the wilderness of Sinai…the Israelites encamped there in front of the mountain.
Moses went up to God. יהוה called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus...Read more...
Hot off the Press! Shabbat Shirah, 5784
01/23/2024 01:55:06 PM
Counting Birds
Note: This Shabbat, Shabbat Shirah, the Shabbat of Song has a tradition to feed birds. We devote one Shabbat a year to focusing on songs to G-d: birds sing to G-d constantly! In gratitude to our winged friends, we scatter crumbs and seeds for them, especially in the winter. Also, please take part in the worldwide bird count which runs from February 16-19, collecting important data on bird...Read more...
D’var Torah for Parshat Bo
01/17/2024 09:02:34 AM
What does it take for someone to change their mind?
Pharaoh is the archetype of the cruel, oppressive tyrant who is so filled with hate, so invested in his own power and ego that he refuses to have the slightest bit of empathy for the people he has enslaved and brutalized. His lack...Read more...
Celebrate: It’s the Months of Shevat!
01/09/2024 11:25:20 AM
This month’s, (the Hebrew month of Shevat (January/February)) zodiac sign is Aquarius. In Hebrew it’s called by the more prosaic name of דלי D’li- which literally means a bucket, water container or vessel.
Part of the meaning is purely geographical: in the...Read more...
Parshat Shemot: The Never-ending Exodus
01/02/2024 09:29:49 AM
I’ve heard that every person has a central metaphor through which they see life. For some, life is a journey, for others a quest and for others perhaps a climb, a circus, a dream or even a feast.
In this week’s Torah portion, we are introduced to what I think is Judaism’s...Read more...
Recognizing the Brother in the Other- D’var Torah for Parshat VaYechi
12/27/2023 11:03:11 AM
In this week’s Torah portion, Vayechi, the long-estranged tribes of Israel are finally united once again. The burden of generations of rivalry and hatred that...Read more...
D’var Torah: VaYigash 5784 - The Essence of the Book of Genesis and of the Torah
12/20/2023 08:47:41 AM
There is no more poignant and beautiful moment in the Torah than this week’s Parsha when Judah opens his heart to his estranged and unrecognized brother, begging for him to release Benjamin who has been framed, and to accept him, Judah, in his stead as a slave.
At that...Read more...
Chanukah 5784
12/04/2023 08:53:02 AM
So here’s the question: Is Chanukah a historical commemoration? You know, the paradigm of Jewish holidays: they tried to kill us, they failed, let’s eat.
Not according to Rabbi Tzadok of Lublin, one of the 19th century’s most creative and thoughtful Jewish...Read more...
Parshat VaYishlach, 5784 - The Kiss Heard Around the World (or was it a bite?)
11/28/2023 01:16:48 PM
Beyond being the sacred text that molded western civilization and has had the most impact of any work of literature ever, the Bible in and general and the Torah in particular contain what can only be described as incredible storytelling.
Take this week’s parsha. Jacob and Esau,...Read more...
Parshat Toldot/Chodesh Kislev, 5784 Chanukah, 5784: Bringing and Being the Light
11/15/2023 09:55:51 AM
Three of our congregational leaders at the Washington Rally on November 14th
Adath Shalom’s Vice President gave us the theme of this year back at Rosh HaShana when she told us to Be the Light. Now, as we prepare for...Read more...
Chayei Sarah, 5784 Campus Update: One of our College Students Speaks out!
11/07/2023 05:35:28 PM
Sarah Imenu, Sarah Our Mother, whose life is celebrated in this week’s Parsha, exemplifies the authenticity and moral courage that nurtures the Jewish people to this day. It is appropriate to share the words of one of our community’s spiritual successors of Sarah as we continue to be nurtured by her example.
This week’s D’var Tora comes to us from Adath Shalom alumna, Carly, who celebrated her Bat Mitzvah at our shul and...Read more...
Hunkering Down or Heading Out?
11/01/2023 10:42:18 AM
Abraham our Ancestor is not exactly a shrinking violet. When his nephew Lot is kidnapped among others by a large invading force, Abraham does not suffice with prayer. He assembles a small coalition and goes after the invaders. Coming by night upon the overconfident army of the Mesopatamian...Read more...
It is Time to Pay Attention: D’var Torah for Lech L’cha, 5784
10/23/2023 09:14:15 AM
In this week’s Parsha, Lech L’cha, we are introduced to Abraham.
Kind of a weird introduction, actually. “G-d said to Abraham, ‘Go from your country, your birthplace, your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will bless you and magnify your name and through you all the families of the...Read more...
Love for and of Israel
10/17/2023 01:33:42 PM
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Dear Adath Shalom Family;
This week's D'var Torah was written by our member Jon Kessler. Jon asks us to look beyond the darkness and challenges of this moment and to reflect on our own relationship with the land and people of Israel. Whatever your connection, I hope that you...Read more...
Simchat Torah - Judaism Celebrates Change
10/04/2023 09:19:13 AM
If you’ve seen or heard about Simchat Torah celebrations in New York, Moscow, Boston, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, London, Johannesburg, you know that they are huge, joyful spectacles where we dance our Torahs out into the streets and the joy, music and celebration are explosive and...Read more...
The Sukkah: Enduring in Its Impermanence Sukkot 5784
09/27/2023 08:58:03 AM
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Sitting out in the Sukkah on a crisp fall evening is the mother of all immersive experiences.
You feel somehow secure and enclosed in the flimsy walls and patchy roof but at the same time, the fragility of the shelter makes you acutely aware of the outside darkness and the...Read more...
Yom Kippur, 5784
09/19/2023 08:44:19 AM
Every year we are asked to run a spiritual marathon - 25 hours of prayer, reflection, repentance and… fasting!
I hear stories of our ancestors in the old country making it a literal marathon where they are in shul for the entire time, everyone dressed in white robes,...Read more...
The Meaning of Rosh HaShana, the Jewish New Year, the Renewal of the World
09/11/2023 03:02:57 PM
Rosh HaShana is just another day, right? It’s not an equinox or a solstice. It has no astronomical significance. No eclipse, no magnetic flux, no bells and whistles. It’s not even the first month of the year - it’s the seventh. It’s not even the anniversary of the...Read more...
When Do We Do the Inner Work?
09/03/2023 10:21:33 PM
D’var Torah for Selichot Services, 5783/2023
Selichot services take place on Saturday night and we hear again the plaintive...Read more...
The Shofar Ten - Part II - Rabbi Saadya Gaon’s Final Five Reasons for Sounding the Shofar
08/30/2023 06:49:33 AM
The sound of the Shofar is powerful, evocative, moving - but why exactly? To try to explain, Rabbi Saadya Gaon, Rosh Yeshiva of the Harvard of Yeshivas, Sura back in tenth century Babylonia, near modern day Baghdad assigned not one but ten Jewish historical moments that the Shofar...Read more...
The Shofar Ten - Part One
08/21/2023 12:34:54 PM
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The plaintive cry of the Shofar is a highlight of Rosh HaShana but what exactly does it mean?
Tenth Century whiz-kid Rabbi (he was appointed head of the largest Yeshiva in Babylonia at only 36 years old) Saadia Gaon gives us ten spiritual associations that the Shofar...Read more...
Rosh Chodesh Elul: Sound the Shofar! Eight Things to Know about Elul
08/14/2023 09:18:44 AM
The Jewish month that begins on Thursday and Friday is the last month of the year - Elul. The Shofar is sounded each day of Elul (including Rosh Chodesh and aside from the last day of the month) to awaken our souls to Teshuva (repentance),...Read more...
Parshat Re’eh: I have set before you a blessing and a curse… The Summer of 2023: Seeking blessing, facing challenges
08/08/2023 08:41:54 AM
This week’s parsha declares that in every circumstance, we have the opportunity to wrest blessings from challenges.
In a difficult summer that saw the highest recorded temperatures in history, filled our skies with smoke and challenged us with the anxieties of uncertain times,...Read more...
Parshat VaEtchanan- Shabbat Nachamu, the Shabbat of Consolation
07/24/2023 09:28:01 AM
The Unanswered Prayer
At that time, I begged G-d…let me please cross over and see the good land across the Jordan, the goodly highlands and the mountains of Israel! (Deuteronomy 3:25)
Moses has dedicated his entire...Read more...
The White Fast and the Black Fast... and Why-
07/18/2023 03:51:49 PM
Listen to Rabbi Rudin - Click HERE
There are Two 24 hour Fast Days in Judaism: the White Fast of Yom Kippur and the Black Fast of Tisha B’Av.
Many people fast during...Read more...
Mattot-Masei: These are the Journeys of the Children of Israel…
07/11/2023 01:49:49 PM
The Torah’s account of the forty-two encampments of our ancient travels through the wilderness on their way to Israel contains a message. Miraculous wells of pure water that spring from the rocks, enemies that dog our steps but who fall before our faith,...Read more...
The Season of Sorrow: Tisha B'Av and the Three Weeks
07/04/2023 10:44:05 AM
Know for certainty that every descent we experience in life is only for the sake of rising up even higher
-Rabbi Nachman of Bratzlav
On the Ninth of Av, the Temple was destroyed and the Jewish people...Read more...
All of Us Means All of Us D'var Torah for Parshat Chukkat-Balak
06/27/2023 10:21:19 PM
This interpretation of the Torah narrative is inspired by Rabbinic teachings called Midrash.
In this week’s Torah portion, those who hate and fear us, in this case, his majesty, Balak ben Tzippur, King of Moab and his allies, hire a major league sorcerer (in modern terms, we’d call him an ‘influencer’), Balaam, to curse us.
I know that those you curse are cursed, says...Read more...
The End of Strife Parshat Korach, 5783Book of Numbers, 16-18
06/21/2023 11:37:57 AM
This week’s Parsha, Korach, describes a terrible schism in the Jewish people. The once righteous but ultimately mistaken and sinful Korach, who has been passed over for priestly leadership in favor of his cousin, Aaron, gathers a large group and attacks Moses...Read more...
The Five Minute Rabbi Part Two
06/13/2023 08:50:51 AM
Don’t Read- Listen!
Right Here
This is part II of a mini-podcast series on the laws of Shabbat observance in...Read more...
A Darkness that Can Be Felt - Interfaith Dialogue in the Haze
06/07/2023 01:43:02 PM
Once a month I take part in an interfaith conversation with a group of Christians, Hindus and Muslims. Over the time that our Interfaith Council has met, we have learned to trust each other and become friends. Our discussions are open-hearted. Despite...Read more...
The Five Minute Rabbi
05/31/2023 09:29:47 AM
Don’t read this- listen to it right here!
The Torah says (Exodus, parshat Mishpatim): Six Days you shall labor and perform all of your...Read more...
Shavuot: Seven Weeks to Freedom
05/23/2023 03:11:31 PM
What is Shavuot? Well, seven weeks ago we celebrated the anniversary of the Exodus. Freedom from slavery and the horrors of Pharaoh’s Egypt. ...Read more...
In the Desert: Again. Parshat BaMidbar
05/14/2023 07:02:22 PM
In Numbers, the fourth book of the Torah, we join the Jewish people on their journey through the howling wilderness on our way to the Promised Land. We encounter moments of joy and challenges of rebellion and disaster. But through it all, though long...Read more...
The Secret of Jewish Observance
05/08/2023 10:52:09 PM
Contemplating the Conclusion of the Jewish Year, 5783
Looking at Jewish spiritual life, it’s really astonishing just how much stuff we do. I mean look at it: We start the year by blowing loud blasts on Ram’s...Read more...
Lag B’Omer! The Holiday of Hiddenness
05/03/2023 05:33:17 AM
No texts, no prayers, no services…. And no real name! Lag B’Omer actually means “thirty three days of the Omer Count”!
So what gives?
Read more...
The Five Minute Rabbi: What to Know about...Counting the Omer!
05/02/2023 05:36:38 PM
See/hear this week's message on the go:
Read more...
Israel: It’s Not Complicated
04/25/2023 01:26:23 PM
It is very rare to see positive coverage of Israel in the world press. There are too many examples and too much explanation is required to expose how profound the distortion is for this short message. But as one who has been to Israel thirty times (at...Read more...
Take the Clean Speech Challenge - Together with Jewish Organizations and Shuls from all over Jersey!
04/18/2023 08:45:44 AM
Who is the one who desires life, who loves their days and sees good? It is the one who guards their tongue from speaking ill, and their lips from guile, turning aside from hurtfulness, seeking peace and pursuing peace.
-Psalm 34:13-15
Judaism doesn’t...Read more...
Where is our miracle? D’var Torah for the Seventh Day of Pesach
04/10/2023 11:23:14 AM
On the Seventh Day of Pesach which begins Tuesday night, we celebrate the Parting of the Sea of Reeds.
The story goes like this: Pharaoh and Egypt have finally released Israel. We head out, mustering at Ramses and then...Read more...
Shalom in the Home- and in Israel! Happy Israel Independence Day!
05/01/2022 09:44:56 PM
I had the great privilege of subbing in our religious school this Sunday and wanted to share how a discussion about Israel became a deeper discussion about family harmony and peace.
The students were asked to plan an itinerary for a trip to Israel; but a trip like no...Read more...
The Omer Challenge: Mission of Transformation!
04/26/2022 12:21:29 PM
The Omer and Self-Improvement go together like thunder and lightning! Each day is another spiritual opportunity for growth. Take a look at the below table and with just one small spiritual challenge each day you'll be amazed!
Omer: Days...Read more...How Shall I be a Jew? Let Me Count the Ways: Guide to Sefirat HaOmer
04/19/2022 08:04:17 PM
There are seven weeks between the freedom we won in Egypt, given by G-d, and the freedom we achieved at Sinai, receiving the Torah.
This sacred history isn't a bit of...Read more...
Passover- The Two Ways out of Slavery
04/13/2022 01:03:57 PM
Every year we are told to see ourselves as being freed from Egypt. The Baal Shem Tov said that the minute we stop leaving Egypt, we are back there again- that is how pernicious and "sticky" slavery is.
The way out is, according to the Torah, to head out to the...Read more...
Pesach? Really? Already? No way!
04/03/2022 10:02:35 AM
Dear Adath Shalom Mishpocho, shalom!
Pesach? Really? Already? No way!
This must have been what it was like back in...Read more...
Shabbat HaChodesh: The Dark of the Moon
03/27/2022 03:49:47 PM
The very first Mitzvah given to the Jewish people might be surprising. It wasn't to be fruitful and multiply -- that was the blessing given to Adam and Eve. It wasn't to be holy or to be sure to do Mitzvot. It was in fact to start our own...Read more...
The Four Special Shabbatot
03/22/2022 09:12:18 PM
This month of Adar is the final month of the Hebrew year ushering in the springtime month of Nisan, the month of rebirth and liberation, the month of Passover. Rosh HaShana may be the birthday of the world but Nisan is the first month of the year.
But...Read more...
When all Lights Went Out... Drasha for Purim
03/15/2022 11:20:51 PM
When the Messiah comes, says the Talmud, and all the crooked paths are made straight and the worm of hate in the heart of humanity has been excised at last, all of the festivals will be abolished. No more Passover or Yom Kippur. No more Shavuot or Chanukah. Why? ...Read more...
Hard Wired for Error D'var Torah for Vayikra
03/08/2022 07:55:02 PM
A goodly portion of the third book of the Torah is devoted to the ritual aspects of basically...Read more...
Welcoming Our Newest Member: D'var Torah for Rosh Chodesh Adar
03/02/2022 12:03:35 PM
The Secret of Purim, the Call from the Darkness
As we approach the Holiday of Purim we are obligated to once again read and study the account of how the Jewish people was not only saved from genocide but the Second Temple was built, restoring our national...Read more...
The Gathering... Parshat VaYakehl
02/22/2022 10:53:44 AM
VaYakhel: Building the Place of G-d's Presence on Earth
Historical moments seem to be made by great men and women doing something great at a great time. But is it so?
In Torah terms, the...Read more...
Ki Tissah: Buns of Steel, Calves of Gold? What???
02/15/2022 04:40:38 PM
Calf of Gold...
Sorry for the bad pun. But really... if you were going to build an idol to inspire and lead your community forward, would you choose a...Read more...
The Golden Altar: The Mystery of the Soul- Parshat Tetzvaveh
02/06/2022 09:11:39 AM
What does a soul look like? This week's Torah portion might try to answer that.
Up on Sinai, G-d and Moses are talking blueprints. For what? The Tabernacle- the traveling...Read more...
Building the World, the Home and the Self: Parshat Teruma
01/30/2022 10:47:51 AM
We Jews are nomads from way back. Ignoring fences and boundaries, always seeking the future, on the move. That's pretty much Jewish history. Together with that, we have a center, a...Read more...
Oy Vey... another day another hassle? Parshat Mishpatim
01/25/2022 10:23:20 AM
In this week's Parsha, following hard on the lofty sentiments of the Revelation on Sinai we come back down to earth hard with the four hassles... the Arba'ah Avot D'Nezikin, the categories of misfortune, damage and alas crime to which we are all subject. And here they are:
1. Shein:...Read more...
The Blessing of Being a Blessing: Taking Action as Sacred Response
01/18/2022 01:04:33 PM
The Blessing of Being a Blessing: Taking Action as Sacred Response
By Rabbi Moshe Rudin
This is my personal take… not that of Adath Shalom or anyone else… thanks!
Jewish Realism=Optimism. Happy 2022
01/03/2022 03:30:53 PM
Optimism is built into the Jewish soul. It is not that we deny grim realities and daunting challenges -- we certainly have faced more than our share of those. But we also have an awareness born of our history that there...Read more...
Exodus! When do we get out of Egypt already??
12/19/2021 01:45:02 PM
If these years of oppression have served any purpose at all, they have increased our longing and our yearning for the redemption of Israel.
Thus wrote Rabbi Kalonymous Kalman Shapiro, the Piasetzna Rebbe, from the indescribable...Read more...
Was Jacob really a Bad Father? The True Meaning of the Coat of Many ColorsParshat VaYechi
12/14/2021 10:05:52 AM
Parshat VaYechi: Was Jacob a Bad Father?
The True Meaning of the Coat of Many Colors
Every year as we read the Joseph story we look for lessons in the tragic...Read more...
Chanukah: 2021 You Want Proof? YOU are the Proof!
12/01/2021 09:48:27 AM
Nissim Black, the amazing Haredi singer/rapper who released his and fellow rapper Kosha Dillz' take on Adam Sandler's Chanukah Song 2.0 (destined to be a classic) raps, When they get up at you and say, give me proof; well it's you -- and every other...Read more...
Rolling the Stone off the Well
11/09/2021 10:12:15 PM
I can almost hear them.
"Did you see what that skinny Jewish kid just did?"
"He rolled that huge boulder off the well and drew water for all of our flocks! I can't believe it!"
In between the...Read more...
Three of Life: Parshat Toldot and Its Lessons
11/03/2021 11:06:42 AM
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob... the Big Three, our holy patriarchs. What is it about these ancestors of us all...Read more...
Chayei Sarah: The Improper Prayer
10/26/2021 03:07:48 PM
Just because I've been studying Torah most of my sixty-one years doesn't mean I know the first thing about it. The narrative has depths and levels that I have...Read more...