Dear Friends: On Wednesday I explored the spectrum of American Orthodox perspectives on whether or not it is permissible to celebrate...

Dear Friends: Next Thursday, November 28, is Thanksgiving. Our office will be closed and both minyan and Adult Education will be...

Dear Friends: About a month ago, the Jewish publication Forward published a somewhat tongue-in-cheek article  unveiling a major “scoop.”...

Dear Friends: Last Thursday 0ur Adult Education classes resumed after a break for the summer and then the holidays of Tishrei. We began...

Dear Friends: A number of friends and colleagues who have had the occasion to teach either “Introduction to Judaism” or “Introduction to...

Dear Friends: My Facebook “Memories” reminded me this morning that it was three years ago today according to the secular calendar that my...

Dear Friends: Last week we began reading the Torah anew. The first verse we actually read this past Shabbat morning was Genesis 5:1: ...

Dear Friends: Tonight and tomorrow is the yahrzeit of approximately 1200 Israelis massacred by Hamas on October 7, 2023. The events of...

Dear Friends: On Monday night along with about 6,000 of my closest friends I attended a ceremony commemorating the first anniversary of...

This morning, various brief notes that will make the High Holidays better for you and your fellow Kehilat Shalom congregants: Selichot:...

Dear Friends: The documentary “We Will Dance Again” about the October 7 massacre at the Nova Dance Festival in Israel started streaming...

Dear Friends: This morning, various brief notes as we move towards Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur: Selichot: Next Saturday night we will...

Dear Friends: Did you know that Montgomery County is the most religiously diverse county in the United States? I recently came across an...

Dear Friends:   There is a Chasidic story about a person who was always spreading gossip and rumors. One day the rabbi of the town called...

Dear Friends: I moved from York, PA, to Baltimore, MD on September 12, 2001. I had left my pulpit in York and started a think tank job in...

Dear Friends: In the parasha we will read next week, Ki Tetzei (Deut. 21:10 - 25:19), we find the following commandment: “When you build...

Dear Friends: On Sunday morning we received the news that six Israeli hostages had been murdered by Hamas shortly before the IDF would...

Dear Friends: If Israel is important to you and you want to hear directly from someone who is involved at the highest echelons of Israeli...

Dear Friends:  Jewish holidays are always either “early” or “late". When was the last time you heard someone say "Rosh Hashanah is right...

Dear Friends:   On Wednesday night, Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg-Polin, parents of Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, spoke...