Anne, Martin and the Golden Calf
This week, the Malverne School District hosted a live program from the Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect called “Letters from Anne and Martin,” where actors read excerpts from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s...
Author: Rabbi Elkodsi
The Rules We Live By
Divin In this week’s Torah reading, Mishpatim, the Torah enumerates many, many laws governing human behavior and actions. Amazingly, the very first ordinance has to do with the proper treatment of Hebrew slaves; they...
Good Advice?
I grew up listening to Allen Sherman’s records, and they’re as funny to me today as they were back in the 60s. One song, that I discovered as an adult, is called “Good Advice.”...
All We Need Is A Miracle?
Sam prays for years to win the lottery, and it never happens. As time goes on, his prayers to God become more fervent, until finally, a heavenly voice booms, “Sam, meet me halfway, buy...
Pharaoh’s Buyer’s Remorse
It’s really hard to be wrong, to have regrets, to be on the “losing” side of something. Making (and acknowledging) mistakes is also hard, if not harder. When I’m knitting, and realize there’s a...
“Ko-vid-26*” and Covid-19
Last year at this time I was happily making initial preparations for the Malverne Jewish Center’s third annual Community Passover Seder. Well, you know what they say about “the best laid plans.” I tried...
Vayera, Putting God On Hold
What happens when two things of equal importance are put before you? How do you decide which to focus on? Our Torah reading this week, Vayera, opens with just such a dilemma, “The LORD...
Back to the Garden
“And now, back to our regularly scheduled program…” The month of Tishrei, which began with the soul-searching of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and ended with the joyous celebrations of Sukkot and Simchat Torah,...
A Huff And A Puff And Then What?
In synagogues all over the world during the festival of Sukkot, the book of Kohelet/Ecclesiastes will be read during services, most likely on Shabbat. Kohelet is one of the “Five Scrolls” in our biblical...
Ruth Bader Ginsberg–A New Judge In The Heavenly Court
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, of Blessed Memory, was a trail-blazer and fierce advocate for the rights of all. She worked tireless so that women and girls in the future might not...
