What Are Tefillin?
The common translation of tefillin is “phylacteries,” which is a Greek word meaning amulet. “And you shall bind them [the words that I command you today] for a sign upon your arm, and…
Helping Hand
If you find or inherit a pair of tefillin, reach out to a local rabbi to make sure they are kosher and learn the proper way to put them on.
Jewish Work in Diabetes
Today is World Diabetes Day. Not so long ago, diabetes was often thought of as a “Jewish disease.” This was before doctors and scientists understood genetics. The idea of diabetes as a…
Toledot 5784-2023
Urgent message: Given the most challenging situation in Israel at this time, I urge all to pray for the bereaved families, the hostages, the missing and the many casualties. Please try…
Sigd, The Ethiopian Holiday
While most of the Jews of Ethiopia–the Beta Israel, as the Ethiopian community is properly called, have made aliyah and rejoined the global Jewish community, they have their own unique…
The Three Mitzvot of Sarah
Jokes about dominant Jewish mothers are abundant and frequent. Perhaps this is because, historically, Jewish mothers have been responsible for building the foundation for passionate…
Know Your Matriarchs
Study the Torah and its commentaries to appreciate the special qualities that the Matriarchs possessed. A closer look at the life of our Matriarch Sarah, details a difficult life, one…
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht, literally the Night of Crystal, but generally translated as the Night of Broken Glass, was a tragic turning point in the fate of Germany’s Jewish community. The…
North Star State’s First Jewish Senator
Rudolph Ely Boschwitz was born on November 7, 1930, in Berlin, Germany to his Jewish parents Lucy (Dawidowicz) and Eli. When he was 3, coinciding with Hitler’s rise to power, the…
Chayei Sarah 5784-2023
Urgent message: Given the most challenging situation in Israel at this time, I urge all to pray for the bereaved families, the hostages, the missing and the many casualties. Please try…