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.

Parashat Korah is one of those key transitional places in The Torah. For many weeks, we have been reading about The Journey of The Children of Israel through the wilderness. We read about the glorious redemption from slavery in Egypt, about the power of God and the reluctant determination of Moses to lead the people.It is important to remember what a reluctant leader Moses always was. Our Sages have taught us that Moses was the most humble man ever to walk the earth; he didn’t want to be a leader but God and History had completely different plans for him. Moses was the one who considered himself an “Arel Sfatayim (someone with uncircumcised lips).” It took major convincing and arm twisting from God to send Moses on his way to help free our People from bondage. (more…)

This Shabbat we will once again read the story of The Twelve Spies that were sent by Moses to scout The Promised Land. There are a couple of things that we have to keep in mind as we prepare to re-acquaint ourselves with this Biblical Story. 

First, it is important to remember that God is the one who instructs Moses to send scouts to take a look at the land but perhaps the most important thing to remember is that Moses, just as instructed by God, appoints a representative from each one of the tribes. I have always found this story to be not only interesting but also very ironic. 

I am sure that many of you are familiar with the popular saying, “Wherever you have two Jews, you have three ideas!” So what exactly was Moses thinking, better still, did God really believe that 12 people were going to find a consensus as to what they thought the land looked like?  (more…)

Last week I had the wonderful opportunity of leading a group of members of our congregation to the AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington D.C. If you have never attended an AIPAC policy conference, I must tell you — you are absolutely missing out on one of the most energizing and powerful events that exist in the realm of Israel activism, not only in the United States but throughout the world. (more…)