Rabbi Marc D. Rudolph

Nick and Jake and the Pains of Parenthood Some of you may have heard about Nick Crews, a retired submarine commander of the British Royal Navy, who, last month, created an international sensation with an email that he sent to his three children. The email was released to the press by his daughter, with his…

Further Thoughts About Newtown Connecticut The Shulchan Arukh is the standard legal code for all of Jewry. It was published in 1575, and ever since that time it has been studied and mastered by rabbis who needed to guide their communities in all manner of daily life.  It is divided into four volumes that cover…

This week our nation has been profoundly shaken by the tragedy at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Twenty six people died senselessly among them twenty first graders ages six and seven. Our hearts go out to all of the families who are in mourning as well as to the members of that…

Let There Be Light December 6, 2012 marks an important date in the history of American and world Jewry.  Even so, most of you probably do not know what this date represents. December 6 , 2012 marks the 25th anniversary of the March on Washington to protest the treatment of Jews in the Soviet Union. …

Who Started It? Did Israel start it when it assassinated the chief of the military wing of Hamas, Ahmad Jabari? Did Hamas start it when it fired on an Israeli jeep patrolling the border? Did Israel start it when 13 year old Hamid Younis Abu Daqqa was killed during a clash with militants in Gaza?…

Love Makes the World Go Round What song comes to your mind when you hear the words, “Love Makes the World Go Round?” Perhaps it is this contemplation of the power of physical love by Rhythm and Blues singer Deon Jackson, recorded in 1965 You know Love Makes The World Go Round Love makes the…

To See and Do The Torah is a remarkably terse document that uses surprisingly few words.  For example, if you want to know what Abraham looked like, the Bible does not tell us.  The Bible describes King Saul as “tall and good looking” and describes King David as “handsome”, but that that about does it…

Like Terach or Abraham? This evening I am going to do something quite audacious.  This evening I am going to do something very bold, something that I have never done before on a pulpit. This evening I am going to do something that requires a lot of hutzpah – or “choots-spa”, as Michelle Bachman would…

Servant or Partner? We are smack in the middle of the college football season and talk has begun about who is a candidate for the Heisman Trophy, the award for the best player in college football. Geno Smith, the quarterback for West Virginia, is a leading candidate for the award.  However, his team suffered a…

The Sukkah of Peace The prayer, Hashkivenu, which we say on Friday night, contains the phrase “sukat Shelomecha” three times.  It concludes with the blessing, “Ufros alenu Sukat shlomecha” – spread over us the Sukkah of Your peace.  The question I would like to explore this Shabbat Chol HaMoed Succot – this Intermediate Sabbath of…