The westernmost member of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
Becoming a Sanctuary
Pekudei Drash by Rabbi Daniel Lev – 3/16/2024
In Pekudei, the parsha this week, we learn that Moshe, Oholiav the architect and others finished building the Mishkan – the Moble Temple, also called the Mikdash, the Holy Place,… Continue reading
The Character of Abraham (Lech-Lecha: Gen. 12:1-17:27)
Drash by Stan Satz
Three of the most popular and almost identical apocryphal (that is, non-Biblical) stories about Abraham are found in pre-Talmudic lore, as in the The Book of Jubilees Chapter 12, second century BCE; in the… Continue reading
Drash for Chayei Sarah
by Sandra Z. Armstrong
In the words of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, It is God’s faith in us that keeps us going. Abraham brought God’s words to earth. We as the people of Israel are to follow these words knowing that… Continue reading
Fishing Alaska
from Les Rosenthal
Foul Mixtures and Fools
Sotah Drash by Stan Satz
Naso: Numbers 4:21-7:89
Numbers 5:11-31 contains the distasteful sotah ritual instigated by a husband who is convinced, even though there are no witnesses, that his wife has been unfaithful to him. Sotah means… Continue reading
Written Torah, Oral Torah, and Atonement
Behar–Bechukotai בְּהַר-בְּחֻקֹּתַי
Drash by Daniel Koster
Blessed were the Israelites in the time of Moses, for they knew the danger. The procedure for sacrifice is to place the offering on the altar, and wait for fire to… Continue reading
Torah Leyning Class
May 23, 2023
The sweet, mellifluous sounds of Torah chanted by the children of Israel are no longer bound by time and space; no longer to be heard only on Shabbat in shul. Within the unlikely venue of Zoom has… Continue reading
Tazria and Tzaraʻat
Parshat Tazria Drash by Alexander Fellman
Good Shabbos, all. I’d like to start, as is my custom, with a little story: There is a council of Rabbis meeting, discussing a matter pertaining to the ritual impurity of an oven under… Continue reading
Seder Symphony
via Arnie Warshawsky
Civil War Seder
From Mark Gottdiener, PhD
When I taught my course on “American Jews” I often asked– “Can you imagine Jews fighting and killing each other during a war?” They couldn’t.
Civil War is famous for such an event. So is WWI… Continue reading