I have always believed that The Torah is a reflection of reality.  From the beginning of our history as a People and at the time when Rabbis started trying to better understand and decipher its words, there have been two different ways of understanding its message.

Rabbi Akiva, for example, believed that every word, every letter, every space in The Torah serves a specific purpose and has a specific meaning.

Rabbi Ishmael, on the other hand, was the one who taught us that The Torah speaks the language of human beings. Truth be told, whichever our approach to understanding our sacred literature, one thing is certain — somehow we can always see our own reality reflected in its powerful words.
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Tonight is one of those nights when worlds seem to collide in an incredible explosion that links millennia old traditions with the incredibly powerful force of modern pop culture.  It is not often that Halloween happens on Shabbat.  I can’t recall many times in past years when this has been the case; what I do know is that when it happens, people seem to be able to choose without a problem. One would think that Jewish Traditions, especially a Mitzvah such as Shabbat, would be at the top of people’s list to observe!  However, time and time again we convince ourselves that if we want to live in a world as equals and if we want our children to be good citizens of the world, we must participate and enjoy with our neighbors in an American Pop culture phenomenon such as Halloween!  I know, it’s a lot of fun!  How can it not be, lots of candy, costumes, laughs and scares!
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Last week, National Public Radio aired an interview where I was asked about the political process and the elections as it has affected Temple Beth Sholom in Las Vegas.  The reporter, Mathew Bell, is a a journalist that works for a news service called “PRI’s The World.”

To listen to the interview click here.

I think the interview went pretty well except for the fact that Temple Beth Sholom was identified by the reporter as a Reform Congregation which is NOT the case.  Temple Beth Sholom in Las Vegas has been a Conservative Congregation for the past 63+ years.

In the interview, you can also listen to Congresswoman Shelley Berkley (D-Nevada), Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and one of the past presidents of Temple Beth Sholom, Sandy Mallin.

On Saturday Oct. 4, 2008, we had the privilege of hosting Ambassador Dennis Ross at Temple Beth Sholom for Havdalah followed by a very interesting lecture.

Ambassador Ross came to speak as a surrogate of the Obama Campaign. Just like we did for Senator Lieberman when he came on behalf of the McCain campaign, we listened carefully and were delighted to have such a prominent figure in American public life share with us insights on the current election.

Ambassador Ross gave a fascinating presentation on Senator Obama’s foreign policy perspective.  I just came upon an article published by Haaretz this morning that very much summarizes what Ambassador Ross said at TBS.

I have chosen to post the entire article; it is both interesting and may also be enlightening as to what the future may hold in store if Obama is elected president.

Again, this doesn’t constitute my personal endorsement of any candidate nor does it represent the Temple’s point of view or mean that Temple Beth Sholom endorses or supports any specific candidate.

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What an amazing feeling it is to be ready to immerse ourselves in the beauty of Sukkot!  Since I was a child, Sukkot has always been my favorite Holy day and even today it provides me with my very own hide away “spot” within The Jewish Calendar. 

After the overwhelming and awesome number of people that come to The Synagogue for The Yamim HaNoraim, after many of us have had our “deep immersion” in Judaism for the entire year, Sukkot is very often one of the least attended Holy Days. Sukkot is the time of the year when we really experience an outmost sense of Joy! (more…)

I am very well aware that many people do not like sermons.  I understand that, and I believe that many times it is due to the fact that we come here to speak about difficult subjects. This afternoon, we will be speaking about something extremely difficult but hopefully we will do it in a rather beautiful way.

About six months ago, I discovered something that many of you discovered way before I did.  Even though I am known for having all the gadgets and I do mean ALL THE GADGETS (I am still in the market for one of the new iPOD NANOS), sometimes I am a late comer to social technology.  For months I kept getting messages to join Facebook.  

I ignored the messages because, after all, “Who has time to just sit in front of a computer and count how many friends you have on any given day?”

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It’s funny what happens right after Rosh Hashanah and in preparation for Yom Kippur. I have a friend who says that he never writes his Yom Kippur sermons before Rosh Hashana in case The Meshiach comes right before Yom Kippur, he would then have to re-write his Yom Kippur sermons, so why work superfluously? 

Many people came up to me right after the second day of Rosh Hashanah and asked me what I would be speaking about on Yom Kippur. When I answered that I didn’t know, some of my friends thought I was being facetious. The truth is that I do work hard on my messages for the Yamim HaNoraim, after all it is like “The Super Bowl” for Rabbis, but I must add that even though I have extensive notes with me on The Bimah, I almost never have a full manuscript of my sermon with me. When it comes to delivering my messages during Shabbat and Holy Days, I do it from notes that I have sketched out on several pieces of paper, and that is why when people ask me for a copy, it is sometimes hard for me to produce one. 

For the first time in many years and to the best of my ability, I am going to try and reconstruct some of my sermons to post them on my blog. Here is my first attempt, the sermon for The First night of Rosh Hashanah 5769.

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Dear Friends,

During the Ten Days of Teshuva, the days from the beginning of Rosh Hashanna to Yom Kippur, I often find myself thinking about what has been and what I want my life to become in this brand New Year. I am sure that most of us approach these Ten Days with tremendous trepidation and that we all search within our soul to find a way to reach our full potential in life as we turn towards God.

This Yom Kippur, I would like to do something that I have never done before. (more…)

Parashat Ki Tetze can be quite overwhelming to study! Why? Well, it contains an incredible amount of Mitzvot. A simple reading of this Sidra will leave you puzzled at first. How do you connect some of the different commandments that it contains? Is there a logic in the way in which all of these different Mitzvot are laid out through out this week’s Torah Portion? Hardly!

Instead of trying to put the puzzle of Ki Tetze together, I would much rather bring your attention to Judaism as a whole. One of the most important and absolute truths (I don’t use this term often or lightly) about Judaism is that it is not merely a religion. Judaism is a way of life, and that is what makes us so different from all other different religions in the world. (more…)

Click here to find a write-up of Monday’s event in the Las Vegas Sun.

Monday September 15, 2008. Doors open at 10:45 AM.

Dear Friends,

Very often during this time of the year, I find myself thinking about my grandparents. I do so because Rosh Hashana brings with it memories of distant places far away — not only in the physical sense but also in a very profound spiritual way.

I think of where we came from. I remember the reality that we faced as a people in so many different lands throughout our history and of the sacrifice of those who got to the shores of our great nation seeking a new life. There are blessings that we must be thankful for that we often take for granted, one of those such blessings is democracy and freedom! When Rosh Hashana and Yom Kipur leave us this New Year, we will find our nation immersed in an absolute exercise in democracy, which is the result of freedom and liberty. (more…)