Category: Uncategorized

  • Shabbat Shalom

    To our brothers and sisters throughout the world and especially in Israel,

    שבת שלום

  • Naftali Fraenkel, Gilad Shaar, and Eyal Yifrach

    Baruch Dayan Emet, We mourn over the loss of innocent lives, Naftali Fraenkel, Gilad Shaar, and Eyal Yifrach.

    There will be time for other emotions, thoughts, reflections and actions.

    But for now, it is time to grieve.

  • Help the Veterans Now

    The problems plaguing the VA are a national disgrace.  Our treatment of returning wounded veterans is nothing less than shameful.

     It is incumbent upon the President of the United States to implement a disaster response to alleviate the backlogs and treat our veterans in need immediately.  We are able to provide emergency aid to victims of natural disasters so must we be able to provide for our veterans. Mr. President, it is past time to make a public statement and direct bold swift action.

    There is an urgent need to understand what happened and how the system designed to provide support for our wounded went so horribly off the rails.  So investigate and correct the system.  But the pressing need is to get help our vets who are struggling now.  This is not the efficient way to manage the problem, but there are lives at stake.  Investigating and managing the problem are secondary to the task of saving veteran’s lives.

    This catastrophe is compounded both by the lies and the cover-ups, and also by the anguish and pain endured by our veterans.  Certainly the system is horribly broken and we must demand accountability on all levels that permits such corruption to exist.  Force resignations, fire others, prosecute criminal activity, conduct investigations and fix this horrible mess.  But first,  help those desperately in need.

     Right now we must focus on getting help to our vets.  Get caregivers into the field.  If our military with all of it’s extraordinary capabilities or our other disaster response groups such as FEMA cannot do it, then get the Red Cross or Doctors without Borders in to do the job we are unwilling to do.  This is a national disgrace and must be addressed now.

  • Pesach- A Message of Freedom

    Soon we will gather around the Seder table and recall our redemption from the suffering of slavery we endured in Egypt.   We ask “Why is this night different from others?” This is a particularly profound question for us in this place and time.

     We enjoy many blessings.  We have prosperity and education; we can live our lives as we choose.   We are free.  But there are many who are not.  What does our freedom mean when there are so many, Jew and non-Jew, who still suffer?

     Our tradition teaches us that we are not truly free until all are free.  The oppression of slavery comes in many forms including physical, spiritual, and economic. It comes from a sense of hopelessness, the despair that arises when people believe that things cannot get better, that there is only suffering.  We are exhorted to help those in need and those who are oppressed to break the shackles that bind them.

     We are not truly free until all are free. God’s promise to us is not fulfilled until we deliver on our part of the bargain using our blessings to help others.   As we share our prayer “Next Year in Jerusalem,” let us commit to doing our part to help others also reach that profound and great place.

  • Chag Sameach

    Best wishes to all for a joyous and meaningful holiday.

    זיסן פסח וגם פסח שמח!

    David

  • Some Purim fun

    Take a few moments to enjoy this festive song by the wonderfully talented Michelle Citrin for Purim, this most complex of holidays!  Shake Your Grogger

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