Just the other day I found myself telling the story of one of my daughter Ari’s friends who came to our home for a play date and instead of saying Hello to me she proceeded to recite with full conviction the following: “Felipe… I just want you to know that today I am going to make good choices!”  I was shocked, I had never heard up until that moment a more concise and beautiful introduction to The Month of Elul!  From the mouth of a small child I found some of the most compelling wisdom I had heard in years.  Imagine if for only one day we would dismiss hypocrisy, diplomacy and masterful acting and we greeted others, even those whom we don’t particularly like with a statement that embraces the conviction that every action we perform, every word we speak has an ultimate consequence.  I think we would find ourselves being kinder, gentler and more understanding and appreciative of others.

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Let me begin this column by admitting to something that I am guilty of.  Very often it takes me more than a couple of months to catch on to the latest social trends.  Sometimes I have a hard time simply giving in to frenzy or joining the crowd in watching, celebrating or participating in something just because everyone else is doing it.  No, I am not talking about life altering events for members of our congregation or our community but rather about the type of thing that the world decides is “in” or must be experienced!  Take for example The Royal Wedding.  When my wife told me she planned on waking up at one in the morning to watch six uninterrupted hours of “The Royals” parading through the streets of London, my reaction was not the best.  I really have nothing against The Queen of England or Prince Charles or any of them but as you can understand it is simply not my thing.  I have always questioned the need for Monarchs in a democratic society.  I have always been awe struck by the tremendous amount of wealth it takes to finance the Royal lifestyle!  When you compound the fact that Monarchs believe that they were appointed by no other than God to rule over others, you completely loose my attention!

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Let me start this brief note by stating a simple truth; there are moments in life that we never forget. There are moments in life that leave an imprint not only in our mind but also in our soul; these moments leave a mark within us that to a certain extent speaks volumes about who we are and what we believe. More important than understanding that there are things that are difficult to forget, it is important to acknowledge that how one reacts to those things speaks volumes about how we understand life and perceive the world around us. (more…)

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I feel your pain. However, cleaning will set you free!

Pesach is a beautiful Holy Day, its message is NOT a metaphor, it is a very clear and direct message as to what freedom and self determination mean. Every year, about two weeks before Pesach I get in a very weird mood, not because I don’t like it or I find no meaning in its message. On the contrary, as I explained before it is simply the outmost expression of the ideals of freedom, liberty and the right to be who we truly are. What gets me every year is the cleaning, the preparation! It is not clearing out the Hametz that bothers me. It is the little things like cleaning my desk, cleaning my drawers, cleaning my car. I know, I should be in the practice of doing this constantly but clearly I am not. (more…)

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Masked in the horrifying news out of Japan this weekend was a cruel act of cold blooded murder that should not go un noticed. The little Jewish Settlement of Itamar with its population of about 200 families located in the Shomron hills was the scene of one of the most brutal terrorist attacks that Israel has experienced recently. (more…)

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What kind of Tent of Meeting would Betzalel build if he was alive today?

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When a High Holy Day Prayerbook is much more than just a Prayerbook

Every New Year brings with it not only changes and challenges but also blessings and sweetness. One of our natural tendencies as human beings is to look too deeply into the difficult things that have happened and overlook the daily blessings that we encounter in life. Too often our thoughts are directed to things that we have no power to change and we spend a tremendous amount of energy trying to fix the unfixable. So, what do we do? How do we change things that we don’t like? How do we face adversity when we know the chances of beating it are slim? (more…)

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The following letter was sent out by the following three conservative Rabbis: Rabbi Felipe Goodman, Rabbi Adam Watstein and Rabbi Bradley Tecktiel.

Dear Friends:                               

This past week during his radio program Rabbi Yitzchak Wyne of Young Israel Aish Ha Torah in Las Vegas stood idly by and laughed as the co-host of the show and past president of his congregation, Peter Dubowski, called the Conservative Movement a breeding ground for Jews for Jesus.  Rabbi Wyne sat in silence as Mr. Dubowski informed his radio audience that Conservative Jews are, by and large, ignorant and devoid of spirituality because they have removed God from their congregations.   (Please click here to access the audio clip.)  (more…)

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The Shooting at The Gay and Lesbian Center in Tel Aviv… much more than just bullets!

Before I begin to write the words that I really want to write, I want to take a trip down memory lane. Let me warn you though, these are not pleasant memories. I remember it as if it happened yesterday.

I was a rabbinical student at The Jewish Theological Seminary. Shabbat Nov. 4, 1995 seemed to be just like any other Shabbat; it turned out to be a day that changed the fabric and soul of the Jewish People forever. (more…)

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This evening we will begin the observance of The Holy Day of Shavuot. As we do every year, we will prepare ourselves to spiritually re-enact the moment in which God gave us The Torah.  It is ironic that  is one of the least widely observed Jewish Holy Days in our calendar because it is of tremendous importance. Of the three festivals of pilgrimage mentioned in The Torah (Pesach, Shavuot and Sukkot), Shavuot is the only one that is apparently simple in observance.  There are no days of Hol Hamoed, there is no Lulav and Etrog, no Matzah! Shavuot, however, is the most spiritually and theologically charged of all the festivals. What does it really mean to receive The Torah, why do we have to consider ourselves as if every single one of us was standing at Sinai? (more…)

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