Yizkor | Rabbi David Russo | September 28, 2020
Every summer when there’s not a pandemic, my wife Rebecca and I make time to take our family to Canada and Boston to visit our families. One of the things that we often do on these trips is visit the graves of our grandparents who have since died. Two summers ago, we went to the Boston area, Continue Reading »
Kol Nidre | Rabbi D'ror Chankin-Gould | September 27, 2020
Virtual Prayer Services, in my house, are a total zoo. I’ve got the service streaming on the iPad, Avi is pulling my Tallis off, Matan is banging his action figures on the train table, diapers need to be changed, Cheerios are flying, and life is chaos. And then, even when the kids settle in, the setting Continue Reading »
Rosh Hashanah Day Two | Rabbi D'ror Chankin-Gould | September 20, 2020
How are you going to feel the day after the Coronavirus? When this is all over, when the disease is vanquished, can you imagine how deeply you’ll breathe? That tightness in your chest, the knot that won’t let go… what will it feel like when it’s just… gone? When we can go “back to normal,” Continue Reading »
Rosh Hashanah Day Two | Rabbi David Russo | September 20, 2020
Shana tova! I want you to think back to 2019 with me for a moment. And I know, it’s hard to remember a time before March of 2020. But I want to think back to the end of December, 2019. One of the things that I mentioned last year during the High Holy Days is Continue Reading »
Rosh Hashanah Day One | Rabbi David Russo | September 19, 2020
Shana tova! Don’t you love it when someone reframes or changes your perspective on something that you’ve thought about forever? I want to let you in on two facts about me, both of them geeky. First, I’m part of a Facebook group called Ask the Beit Midrash. People ask random questions about Jewish thought, and Continue Reading »
Rosh Hashanah Day One | Rabbi D'ror Chankin-Gould | September 19, 2020
I couldn’t put down my phone. I was in Galena, on a short vacation with my family. We rented a house in the midst of nature. It was glorious. The space to breathe without a mask was healing. The time away from responsibilities was liberating. But I couldn’t stop checking my email. And my texts. Continue Reading »
Shelach-Lecha | Rabbi Michael Siegel | June 20, 2020
This morning, I would like to speak to you about the power of imagination. Here, let me put great emphasis on power. It was none other than Albert Einstein who was able to imagine things happening in the universe that are only now being verified. “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces Continue Reading »
Rabbi Michael Siegel | June 19, 2020
What an amazing sight this is! I have been on a journey with Pastor Chris Harris for the past 8 years and we have walked a great distance together. Chris, I am so proud of the way that you, along with an army of Bright Star volunteers, have brought together elected officials, corporate leaders and Continue Reading »
Naso | Rabbi Michael Siegel | June 6, 2020
Sometime in the 8th Century, a silversmith etched Hebrew letters on a small piece of thin, pounded silver. It was then folded and presumably worn either as jewelry or pinned to the person’s clothing. This tiny sliver of silver contains the earliest example of Hebrew writing in the world today. For those who would deny Continue Reading »
Memorial Day, Yom HaZikaron | Rabbi Michael Siegel | May 23, 2020
I experienced Yom HaZikaron only once in the land of Israel, but I never forgot it. Yom HaZikaron is the Israeli version of Memorial Day, a 24-hour period set aside for a nation to remember its fallen soldiers. At 8 p.m., sirens blast throughout the country announcing this most solemn day. The seriousness with which Continue Reading »
