Dear Friends, “Eikev” means “Because” or “If.” It’s about actions having consequences; it’s about how what we do matters, and what we think matters. If, eikev, we do this, there will be an impact. If, eikev, we don’t, there will be a different one. Of course, it feels very challenging now in August 2025/Av 5785 to know what action Continue Reading »
Dear Friends, In rabbinical school, they teach you to “write from the scar, not from the wound.” In most circumstances, that is pretty good advice. It can be hard to find or communicate meaning in an injury or injustice when the wound is still raw. But I think it would be a mistake to wait to talk about Continue Reading »
Dear Friends, “Have you not saved a blessing for me?” It’s one of the most heartwrenching verses in the Torah, and it’s uttered in this week’s parshah by Esau, bereft, to his father, Isaac, when they both realize that Esau’s brother Jacob has taken his birthright and blessing, leaving Esau with a radically different future than Continue Reading »
Dear Friends, This past week was the fifth yahrzeit of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, and I’ve been trying to honor his memory by reading a number of his commentaries on this week’s parsha, Chayei Sara. The one that’s really sticking with me is the one he wrote the same year he died, 2020, in which he Continue Reading »
Dear Friends, You know how if you’re having trouble making a minyan for prayer, you can use the Torah to count as person number ten? One of the sources behind the idea comes, in part, from a midrash on this week’s parsha. Abraham asks God to save Sodom from destruction if there are forty-five righteous people there Continue Reading »
Dear Friends, This week, I’m trying to find inspiration in the parsha to help me manage uncertainty. I don’t know that I struggle so much with change, but I really, really struggle with feeling like I don’t have control over that change. For myself and for my family, I want to know what to expect, and I Continue Reading »
Dear Friends, I’m not going to lie; I’m a bit spent, so I’m going to let Isaiah do the talking this week (via the weekly haftarah), and I’m just going to chime in to comment (in italics). Grab a cup of coffee and imagine we’re doing some torah study together. Here’s Isaiah chapter 60: ק֥וּמִי א֖וֹרִי Continue Reading »
Dear Friends, This past week I have been sitting with words from Degel Mahaneh Efraim, a Hasidic collection of teachings written by Reb Moshe Chayim Efraim of Sudilkov (1748–1800), the grandson of the Ba’al Shem Tov. He teaches, “A stranger has no one to connect with and be close to. They have no one to Continue Reading »
Dear Friends, I almost can’t believe this is my last Shmoozy letter before my sabbatical, but it’s true. I’ve led my last services until July, and I’m tying up some loose ends, but it’s starting to feel very real. I am so incredibly grateful to be able to take this time to learn, to explore, Continue Reading »
Dear Friends, This week, in Parshat Vayeishev, our ancestors’ family falls apart. Joseph’s brothers, overwhelmed by jealousy and concern for their own selves, choose violence. They throw Joseph into a pit, sit down for a meal while he languishes below, and debate what to do with him. Kill him? Sell him into slavery? They’re stressed Continue Reading »