Rabbi's Blog

Dear friends,

The last tragic events in Israel are devastating. A missile has dropped in the city of Holon, a few blocks away from my in-laws’ home. It has not an easy week for us. We are worried and concerned for the well-being of our families across the country. 

I hear voices from people in the Jewish community and the media on how the nations need to support Israel while the U.N...Read more...

Dear friends, 

This past Monday we celebrated Yom Yerushalayim. A historical and miraculous day for our nation. The day Jerusalem returns to its rightful owners, the people of Israel in the land of Israel.

Our community commemorated this particular day while inaugurating our new video system co-sponsored by the Iny family.

I would like to share an extract of a story of the journey with you,  retold by...Read more...

La lecture de la Torah de cette semaine semble souligner que l’octroi de la Torah à Moshe, et à travers lui à Israël en général, a eu lieu sur la montagne du Sinaï. Puisque la Torah ne traite pas des détails géographiques fortuits, cette emphase concerne l'étude et l'analyse des ours de montagne. L'escalade est un sport pour les plus robustes et en bonne forme physique. Cependant, la plupart d'entre nous sont...Read more...

In this short segment we are going to explore the advantages of this teaching; Having a mentor, the value of exchange and humility as a tool to acquire knowledge. 

Lag Ba'omer est le 33ème jour du décompte de l'Omer. Ce fut une journée de fête depuis des siècles. Il marque le décès du rabbin Shimon Bar Yohai. Le rabbin Shimon a demandé à ses étudiants que le jour passé soit célébré comme un Hilloula, comme un mariage où la mariée et le marié s'unissent. A cette occasion de Lag Baomer, que nous célébrons cette année le 30 avril 2021, je voudrais partager avec vous une...Read more...

This week I was learning with some of our members and we “bumped” into this fascinating Talmudic teaching: “Come see how humble people are considered by Hashem to be great:

When the Beis Hamikdash existed, a person who brought a Olah offering had

the reward of an Olah. If he brought a Korban Minchah, he had the reward of a Minchah. Whereas someone who is humble, the Torah considers it as if...Read more...

In this week’s Torah portion we learn about a disease called tzara’at. Once determined, ritually impure, the person would have to forgo isolation. Does this sound familiar to anyone? Covid? Not exactly. A Metzora was a spiritual disease that causes discoloration of the skin or of hairs upon the skin, in unpredictable patches is caused by sins of speech ­ gossip, slander and the like. The moment the person notices the...Read more...

Round one, done! So happy and grateful. Thank you to each and one of you who contributed to making this possible for us. Do it for you and your loved ones. Keep staying safe, 2021 we got this!

Read more...

Hillel and Shammai received [the oral tradition] from them [Shamai and Avtalion]. Hillel used to say: be of the disciples of Aaron, loving peace and pursuing peace, loving mankind and drawing them close to the Torah.

Hillel and Shammai, the fifth “pair” are probably familiar to many of you, for they were the founders of that two great schools, Beth Shammai (the House of Shammai) and Beth Hillel (the House of...Read more...

Dear friends, 

You have all experienced those long hours and days of the Jewish Haggim. Namely this year three consecutive days of Passover. They can be long. "How lucky we are that the second days of the hag fall on Shabat", I heard someone exclaim this week. 

Quite honestly, I actually enjoy the second day of haggim. But I wouldn’t be saying the truth if I told you that everyone...Read more...

Dear friends, 

After an entire year of struggling with the covid pandemic, we might be seeing some light at the end of the tunnel. As I am writing you this message the government is announcing changes that would allow 250 people to attend houses of worship. This in itself has been a struggle and a test to our beliefs and devotion to Judaism. Everyone agrees that the past year has isolated us physically, mentally, and spiritually. But many of us, each in our own way, refused to be paralyzed by this reality. Taking action and connecting via zoom, to services, classes, conferences, and get-togethers. This is the underlying message of Passover.       

The miraculous exodus from Egypt took place 3,333 years ago.

Since then, the Jewish people have not been enslaved in Egypt. Nevertheless, year after year, Jews sit down at their Seder table and discuss the great miracles Hashem wrought for their forefathers. They repeat the amazement and wonder each year as if it were the first time

they ever heard the story. The celebration is as joyous as it must have been on the first Pesach all those years ago.

The modern-day Jew has just as much to commemorate as those long-ago ancestors, especially in light of the fact that the Hakhamim demand them to consider themselves leaving Mitzrayim every day. As the Haggadah is read in the modern era, the reader should envision

how to best leave their personal Mitzrayim.

Mitzrayim comes from the root meitzar, or limitations. Modern slavery is not a whip-cracking overhead, it's the self-imposed restrictions a person sets upon himself. People tend to paint themselves into a corner, insisting that they "aren't the type," or "never do things like that." They convince themselves that they are incapable of various things, like sitting and studying Torah for ten minutes more or giving extra money to tzedakah. They lose out on so many opportunities

because of those self-imposed restraints.

To experience a personal geulah from their Mitzrayim, they need to challenge themselves to go beyond their norm. They need to see themselves as businessmen, who would never be satisfied with one day's earnings and close shop. Just as one financial success creates even more ambition, after attaining a personal spiritual goal they should extend themselves to spread it even further.

The exodus from Egypt is celebrated each year anew because each individual is enslaved to their meitzarim - the limitations they perceive about themselves. The story of Pesach inspires us to free ourselves from any obstacles, both internal and external, pushing ourselves to be better and do more, to constantly grow in serving Hashem.

Pirkei Avot est un traité bien connu de la Michna. Mais avez-vous déjà entendu parler de Pirkei D'rabbi Natan? Eh bien, si vous ne l'avez pas, vous êtes sur le point de le découvrir. Dans cette session, nous avons présenté une introduction générale de ce Tractate (Pirkei D'Rabbi Natan) et une partie de la nouveauté que nous trouvons dans ses enseignements. Dans les classes suivantes, nous approfondirons ses détails et sa profondeur.

When the fourteenth of Nisan coincides with Shabbat, bedikat ĥametz is performed with a berakha on the night of the thirteenth, Thursday night, because it is impossible to seek and eliminate ĥametz on Shabbat. After the search, the ĥametz is nullified like in any other year, and on the following day, Friday, it is burned. It is best to burn it by the sixth seasonal hour of the day, like in any other year. Ĥametz that will be...Read more...

Dans mon article «In focus» cette semaine, j'ai écrit sur le programme de pré-pessah pour les jeunes que nous avons eu dimanche. Plus de 64 enfants de tous âges nous ont rejoints.  Je suis toujours étonné de la magie de l'innocence des enfants et de leur volonté pure d'en savoir davantage sur leur héritage juif. Comme vous le savez tous, le premier mot de la lecture de la Torah de cette semaine est écrit d’une...Read more...