D'var Torah

As 2023 (happily) comes to a close, our first Book of the Torah, Genesis, also comes to a close this week with Parashat Vayechi. The name of the portion means “And he lived.” It is the story of the final years of Jacob’s life, the blessings that he bestows to his sons, assigning each one a role in the...Read more...

Over the past few weeks, I’ve become an avid listener of “All There Is,” Anderson Cooper’s excellent podcast about navigating grief. Now in its second season, the podcast features a variety of conversations between Cooper and others who have experienced loss (and sometimes, who also spend their...Read more...

Happy Thanksgiving and almost Shabbat Shalom everyone,

This e-letter had to go out early this week because of the holiday, so as I’m writing this, negotiations are still in process to free some of the Israeli hostages held by the Hamas terrorists. My hope and prayer for this Shabbat is that at...Read more...

Dear Friends,

We are writing to offer you our support. It has been almost five weeks since the October 7 attack on Israel. The situation in Israel and Gaza - the massacre on...Read more...

This week’s Torah portion, Lech L’cha, contains a famous promise from God to Abram (soon to be Abraham): Go forth, from your land, your homeland, and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great, and you...Read more...

This week we begin the very first portion of the Torah - Genesis 1:1 - Parashat Bereishit. I always feel great joy as we come to this reading each year. The holy days are behind us, my favorite season of Autumn is underway. The story of creation speaks to me of newness and potential and that is always...Read more...

Did you see it Wednesday? Wasn’t it just great? For me, it brought a smile to my face and I felt like the heaviness of the past several days lifted off my shoulders. Though it didn’t stay around for long, did it? I’m speaking about the sun. After several days of rain and gloom from the tropical storm...Read more...

Friends,

I am so pleased that in our rotation of writing for our Shabbat eLetter, my turn has come up on this week of Rosh Hashanah. Since I know that in a short time, all of us will be immersed in the themes of the New Year, I write from a more personal perspective...Read more...

With television and movie writers and actors on strike, there’s a dearth of new shows to watch these days, and it will get worse as the strike continues into the fall season. However, I have a solution! Read this week’s Torah portion, Ki Tavo (Deuteronomy 26:1-29:8) and buckle in for a...Read more...

This Friday night, we will be entering the month of Elul — the month in the Jewish calendar set aside for reflection and repentance in advance of the High Holy Days. The metaphor we often invoke for the process of repentance is “teshuva,” literally meaning...Read more...

Shabbat Shalom!

I’ve had a wonderful first few weeks here at TRS, and I’m so happy to have the chance to share some Torah with you. If we haven’t had the chance to meet in person yet, I hope we will soon.

In this week’s parasha, Eikev, Moses continues to address...Read more...

This week's Torah portion opens with the phrase Elu Devarim…These are the words. This opening refers to Moses’ words to the Israelite people as they prepare to complete their journey through the wilderness and make their way into the Land of Israel. This is the first portion of the Book...Read more...

Over the weekend, I went to see the new exhibit at the Portrait Gallery about the life of Frederick Douglass. It’s a great exhibit, with portraits not just of Douglass (though there are several of these taken throughout his life) but also of many activists who were his...Read more...

Happy Pride!

This Friday night, we’ll be celebrating Pride Shabbat. In so doing, we’ll be participating in a tradition that has been around since the 1970s, and in recent years, has become increasingly important to...Read more...

Dear Friends,

This week we say our formal “l'hitraot” (see you soon) to Cantor Rachel Rhodes who will be leaving us next week to become the Senior Cantor of Temple Sinai in the District. It has been an amazing nine years of partnership with her and I’m so excited...Read more...