Tikun Israel

In the midst of environmental, financial, and political uncertainties – today is Tu B’shvat – the New Year of the Trees. It is a time when vegetation all around is awakening from dormancy, shaking off the dust and beginning to stretch, mother earth is preparing herself for another cycle of creation and life. It’s nothing…

As we enter Day 5 of this battle with Hamas many out there are saying “told you so”. Ever since Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza, 3 years ago, Hamas has used its authority over the strip to implement their version of law and order over their people, and to stockpile weapons and rockets. Rather than promote…

I’d like to share a few lines of Shabbat. Consider reading through them, think about what they mean to you. Perhaps there is one that resonates more then any other? שמור וזכור – Observe & Remember the Sabbath

As we trace Zionism’s pulse throughout history, from Abraham to this vey point in time, we see that every generation had its Zionist expression. In Genesis 13:17, Abraham is urged to קוּם הִתְהַלֵּךְ בָּאָרֶץ, “Arise and walk the land…”, literally to walk on it. Thousands of years later, pioneers of the late 1800’s and early…

“Anti-Zionism = Anti-Semitism” – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “. . . You declare, my friend, that you do not hate the Jews, you are merely ‘anti-Zionist.’ And I say, let the truth ring forth from the high mountain tops, let it echo through the valleys of God’s green earth: When people criticize Zionism, they…

Genesis 18:1-3 “VaYera”, and he saw/appeared… וַיֵּרָא אֵלָיו ה’ בְּאֵלֹנֵי מַמְרֵא וְהוּא יֹשֵׁב פֶּתַח־הָאֹהֶל כְּחֹם הַיּוֹם: ב וַיִּשָּׂא עֵינָיו וַיַּרְא וְהִנֵּה שְׁלֹשָׁה אֲנָשִׁים נִצָּבִים עָלָיו וַיַּרְא וַיָּרָץ לִקְרָאתָם מִפֶּתַח הָאֹהֶל וַיִּשְׁתַּחוּ אָרְצָה: ג וַיֹּאמַר אֲדֹנָי אִם־נָא מָצָאתִי חֵן בְּעֵינֶיךָ אַל־נָא תַעֲבֹר מֵעַל עַבְדֶּךָ: And the Lord appeared to him in the plains of Mamre; and…

I remember the first time it hit me, the value and fragility of Klal Yisrael, Jewish Peoplehood. It was the assassination of Yitzchak Rabin (zl’) in 1995; I was studying at Haifa University. Jews from Israel to North America and around the world reacted to the assassination in shock and grief. No one knew what…

Remember the first time you left your home, your family, and everything that was familiar to you? Perhaps it was college? Or simply moving on as is symbolic of growth and maturity? It may of not been an easy move, though in hindsight we all admit the great value of moving on, moving forward.

Friends, We just finished off the High Holy Day Marathon, prayed, cried, laughed, reflected, ate, fasted and of course repented… Are we done yet? Think again, Sukkot is upon us. One of three festivals (Passover & Shavuot), reflecting historical, agricultural, and mystical significance.

The times are a changing, economies tumbling here in the U.S. and around the world, geo-political movements, Iran, Iraq, Russia, wars in Africa, Darfur, Genocide, environmental crises, the changing heads of state both here in the U.S. and in Israel, and much much more. So great are these events in our society, that we may…