Rabbi Nathan's blog

As we move into the Hebrew month of Elul, the month preceding our High Holy Days, may we each take in the message that turning toward wholeness in the world begins with turning toward wholeness in our hearts. May we each be strengthened in this work, held in each others' love and God's love to do this important work. And may our individual efforts toward wholeness contribute towards a larger wholeness in the world. 

In the Israeli calendar Israeli Memorial Day and Independence Day are consecutive commemorations. This year they fall on May 13 and May 14 respectively. This is not accidental. The cost of Israeli lives in its struggle for independence in 1948, about 1% of its population at the time, linked the loss and celebration, each as inextricable pieces of a whole. Much like any Jewish ceremony ‐ like breaking a glass at a wedding ‐ it is often our...Read more...

After the dramatic story of the Exodus from Egypt and the receiving of the Ten Commandments at Sinai, the Torah portions in the latter part of the book of Exodus cover a tremendous amount of details concerning the material requirements for designing and building the desert Tabernacle, the mobile sanctuary that accompanied the Israelites on their wilderness journeys.

One of the takeaways from this description is simply the...Read more...

Friends, we begin January by also beginning the book of Exodus, the core story of liberation that animates us as a Jewish people. It is a story we refer to every day in our daily prayer when we sing the “Mi Kamocha.”

As we cope with the Hamas attack of October 7, and the ensuing Gaza war and its repercussions around the world, I have been wondering about what the spiritual teachings are that we can glean from our liberation story...Read more...

Dear Friends,

Like many of you I have been heartbroken of the horrific murders carried out by Hamas militants against Israelis, the taking of hostages, and also the loss of civilian lives in Gaza during this conflict. Know that we are with you and we do our best to hold and grieve the loss together and also pray for a quick resolution to this conflict with a minimum of loss of life.

As American Jews, we are deeply affected by...Read more...