Rabbi Marc D. Rudolph

  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”…

  My colleague, Cantor Sandy Horowitz, shared an old Peanuts cartoon she dug up which aptly illustrates the relationship between Moses and the Jewish people after 40 years of leading them. In the cartoon Linus shares with his big sister Lucy that he wants to be a doctor when he grows up. Lucy replies that…

Rabbi, would it be alright if I lit candles on Shabbat? At first glance, a strange question to be coming from a fellow Jew. What objection could a rabbi possibly have for a person to perform the mitzvah of “hadlakat nerot”, kindling the Sabbath lights? But a deeper look revealed the anxiety that lay behind…

James Tissot  Spies Returning from  Canaan Our parasha for this week is crucial to understanding the Exodus story. A mere two years out of Egypt, the Israelites are about to enter the Promised Land. Moses sends 12 spies to reconnoiter the Land. Two of the spies, Joshua and Caleb, return confident that the Israelites can successfully…

Depiction of the Menorahsketched in Maimonides’ own hand. Our parasha for this week opens with the command that Aaron the High Priest is to be tasked with lighting the seven candles of the Menorah daily. This follows last week’s parasha, where the heads of each tribe bring gifts at the dedication of the Tabernacle. Neither Aaron,…

Dear Congregants and Friends, Six days ago our nation and the world witnessed the killing, caught on camera, of George Floyd, a 46 year old Black American man in the custody of the Minneapolis Police Department. By now the horrific image has been seared into the consciousness of the American public – a Minneapolis police…