Hear Our Voice

In the car on the way to school:

Sammy: This is the year of the upset, Dad.

Me: What do you mean?

Sammy: Take last year’s Super Bowl.  Cam Newton was the NFL’s MVP Quarterback expected to lead the Panthers to victory over the Broncos.  That didn’t happen.  At all.  March Madness kept seeing upset after upset; nothing was what we expected.  In the NBA Playoffs, the Warriors came back from...Read more...

When Israel found itself before the as of yet, un-parted Red Sea and Pharaoh’s pursuing army at their rear, they began to kvetch (complain) and geshri (despond) and veynen (cry). “What Moses?!, there weren’t enough graves in Egypt that you brought us out to the desert to die?!” In desperate response, Moses tells Israel to stand back and await God’s imminent deliverance. God, however, grows impatient with this magician’s persona...Read more...

In so many ways, we Jews get messed with. When we claim our tragic past, we are accused of acting like martyrs under false pretense. When we deject our past and rise above all that has befallen us, we are accused of the secret command and control of the world. We are the classic canary in the coalmine but perhaps, not in the way we tend to think. Yes Niemoller’s poem, “First They Came for the Socialists,” is true. Its true for we Jews,...Read more...

We have come to know our upcoming big holiday as “Passover,” in light of the story of the Angel of Death “passing over” the homes of the Israelites, as the first born children of the Egyptians are struck dead by the tenth plague.  However, truth be told, this holiday that inspects, analyzes and investigates the essence of freedom, isn’t about passing over, avoiding, skirting, or shying away.  Its Hebrew name, “Pesach,”...Read more...

A friend and congregant emailed me today asking, “Rabbi Scott, since you wrote a piece about how Donald Trump is channeling the destructive efforts of Korach, then which biblical personas might I liken President Obama or Secretary Clinton or Senator Sanders?” Citing a particularly negative article against these three individuals that seeks to create parallels between them and Trump, I believe my congregant’s suggestion was, in essence,...Read more...

Dear CSK,

Shabbat Shalom!  

First of all, let me say that I am sorry I won’t be with y’all tonight for Shabbat.  However, I am grateful to Josh Levine, Laura Rose and Ben Rose, who have prepared a wonderful Shabbat celebration for you in my absence.

Second of all, I wanted to share with you why I will be out of town this weekend.  In short, I will be leading a retreat outside Birmingham, AL.  As...Read more...

Well, today, day 4 was perhaps our most profoundly important day of all. Caveat – no, I did not fully comprehend how much time we wouldn’t be spending actually “working” here. And I know that is true for my fellow travelers as well. But what we have been doing has exhausted even the most experienced travelers among us. Today, we departed Jubilee House Community for El Porvenir Coffee Plantation, close to a three-hour van ride followed...Read more...

Day 2! And oh wow, its been busy! You’ll want to read this whole thing as it includes mayhem, mystery, museum, mucha comida, market, murals and mass.

The day started with our beautifully wind-blown and decently cooled...Read more...

Dear CSK,

Shabbat Shalom!  

First of all, let me say that I am sorry I won’t be with y’all tonight for Shabbat.  However, I am grateful to Josh Levine, Laura Rose and Ben Rose, who have prepared a wonderful Shabbat celebration for you in my absence.

Second of all, I wanted to share with you why I will be out of town this weekend.  In short, I will be leading a retreat outside Birmingham, AL.  As...Read more...

I am not a happy camper! I was just about to get to bed at a reasonable time when yet another truly ridiculous, truly insulting and truly illuminating bad-synagogue story was related to me. Picture an 11 year old who uses a wheelchair (this is not a story about my son, by the way). This 11-year old who is physically disabled but intellectually sharp, bright and dynamic wants to attend Hebrew school at a local synagogue. The mItzvah projects...Read more...