Rabbi Marc D. Rudolph

  Levitt Home in Naperville It seemed to come earlier this year. The weekend before Thanksgiving my neighbors began to put up their Christmas decorations. “Just taking advantage of the warm weather,” my next-door neighbor Steve said to me when I complimented the lights he and his son were stringing on the eaves of their…

  Peter Paul RubensThe Reconciliationof Jacob and Esau Last week we read in the Torah about Jacob fleeing from his home in Canaan in fear of his life. He had stolen his brother Esau’s blessing and Esau had vowed to kill Jacob once their father died. Jacob camps for a night on his way to…

  Sculpture of Leah by Michelangelo Before Generation Z, before the Millennials, before Generation X, there were the Baby Boomers. My generation and the generation of many of you… The “Baby Boomers” were also dubbed “The Me Generation” because of our perceived unhealthy focus on fulfilling our own needs. The American historian and   social critic…

  One of the most enduring myths of our country is that of the “self-made man”. Benjamin Franklin has been described as “the original self-made man”. In his autobiography, Franklin describes the journey he made from being the son of a candle maker to re-invent himself, through the virtues of “industry, economy and perseverance” as…

  In 1688 a Swiss physician named James Hofer coined the term “nostalgia” from the Greek “nostos” meaning “homecoming” and “algos” meaning “pain”. The syndrome was characterized by sadness and a persistent longing for a person, an object or a place. Hofer called nostalgia a “disease”. It was thought to be particularly widespread among soldiers.…

  John M. Gottman is an American Psychologist renowned worldwide for his extensive research on marriage. He has spent over forty years developing measurements to predict who would become divorced and who would stay married.  When I was still a practicing couple’s therapist, I took a seminar with him on assessment of couples who present…

  The ideal of the blessed person in the Bible is to live long enough to see one’s grandchildren. For example, Psalm 128 concludes with the following blessing: “May G-d bless you from Zion/May you share the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life/ and live to see your children’s children.” But unlike…

  In our Torah reading for this week Moses instructs the Israelites to set up stone pillars in the Land of Canaan after they cross the Jordan River. The stone pillars are to be coated with plaster, and the words of the Torah are to be written on them. They are also to set up…

  This evening marks Rosh Chodesh Elul, the first day of the month of  Elul is the month when we begin our spiritual preparations for the Yamim Noraim – the Days of Awe. Elul is the official opening of our High Holidays. The numerical value of the word “Elul” is the same as the numerical…

 Our Cantor just sang the prayer, “Shalom Rav” set to music by Debbie Friedman, of blessed memory.  Shalom Rav Al Yisrael Amekha means grant ABUNDANT peace to Israel, Your people. The word “rav” you might remember is related to the word “Rabbi” in English (“rav” in Hebrew) A “rabbi” is someone who makes learning “abundant”…