Rabbi Marc D. Rudolph

Jewish tradition seems to be very ambivalent about counting. On the one hand, the Psalms teach us to “number our days, so that we may attain a heart of wisdom”. We are currently in a period where we count the number of days between Passover and Shavuot — the “sefirat ha-omer”. And in this week’s…

  Our Parasha for this week, Emor,  lists all  the festivals we are to observe throughout the year. The Torah first lists Shabbat, then the other festivals — Passover, Shavuot, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur,Sukkot, and Shemini Atzeret.  The Torah refers to these times as “Moadim”, the Hebrew word which we translate as “Festivals”. The root…

Today’s words of Torah are brought to you by the Hebrew word “Kodesh”. “Kodesh” means “holy”. In this week’s parasha the Jewish People are enjoined to be a “Holy People”. The Parasha goes on to explain just what that means. However,  an examination of the entire Torah quickly shows that it is not only “people”…

                Over the past year many words have crept into our day-to-day language…. “Pandemic”, “lockdown”, “masking” “social distancing” and “PPE” are some of the words that we used infrequently or did not know. When asked about whether the Corona virus will ever go away, scientists often respond that it will be “endemic”. I’m…

    Inspired by opening day, which was yesterday, I found myself writing these lyrics: To the tune of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game) Take me out to the temple dad Take me out to the shul, Let’s hear some prayers and Torah chants, Maybe the rabbi will break out in dance  …

  Tomorrow night marks the beginning of Passover.  I am certain that most of us  will be keenly aware that this seder will be the second time we hold our Seders during the Pandemic.  Once again many of us are not  able to join loved ones in person this year. The year has taken a…

  Photo: Chris Liverani [Unsplash.com] Very few people study the book of the Torah we begin this week, the Book of Leviticus, or Vayikra. I pity the poor bar or bat mitzvah student who has to summarize and find ways to relate to these portions , which deal mostly with the laws of animal sacrifice in…

  The Erection of the Tabernacle and the Sacred Vessels 1728  This week we conclude our reading of the Book of Exodus. The Book of Exodus begins with our enslavement in Egypt, and follows with the story of the Ten Plagues, our leaving Egypt, and our receiving of the Ten Commandments at Mt. Sinai. The final…

   Laura Ockel on Unsplash Probably most of us remember that this Sunday, February 14 is Valentine’s Day, or rather Saint Valentine’s Day. More than just a holiday celebrating love, it has become an economic powerhouse, a day eagerly awaited by retailers. Despite the pandemic, or perhaps because of it, this year consumers are expected…

  Despite the frequent frustrations, the constant worries and the maddening delays in deploying the Coronavirus vaccine, some of us have managed to get our first injection. Surely, many of us feel, we ought to recite a blessing when receiving what most consider a life-changing vaccination. But what blessing should we say? Rabbi David Wolpe…