by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 28, 2023 | Faith, God, Judges, Prayer, Redemption
By Rabbi Elie Mischel Dr. Antoine Deliege, the Chief of Child Protection at UNICEF Tunisia, writes that the most gut-wrenching sound he has ever heard is silence in an orphanage. “I have always been struck when I walked in the babies’ room by the silence that reigns...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 19, 2023 | Community, Freedom, God, Happiness and Joy, Holiness, Psalms, Responsibility, Tests and Trials
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz A long time ago, I worked as a cook in exclusive restaurants in Manhattan. I once got a special order for a lunch party of ten young businessmen celebrating their success. They were all under thirty years old and they had each achieved a...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 16, 2023 | God, Israel, Messiah, Prayer, Purity, Redemption, Repentance, Rosh Hashana
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz Some memories stay with you forever. My yeshiva taught Breslov Hassidut and most of the students went to Uman, Ukraine to spend Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, praying at the burial site of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov. Around 30,000 Jewish...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 15, 2023 | God, Israel, Judges
By Rabbi Elie Mischel Initially scorned by his brothers, Jephthah was appointed as the leader of Israel at a moment of crisis. When the evil Ammonites invaded the land of Gilead, Jephthah’s brothers begged him to lead them in battle against the enemy. Jephthah...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 15, 2023 | Community, Faith, God, Good and Evil, Israel, Judges, Leadership
By Rabbi Elie Mischel One of the Catholic practices that angered many people and led to the Protestant Reformation was the doctrine and practice of indulgences. Essentially, the Catholic church said that sinners could buy forgiveness for their sins by paying money to...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 12, 2023 | Faith, God, Israel, Judges, Passover, Tests and Trials
By Rabbi Eliezer Mischel As a synagogue rabbi in New Jersey, I often thought of the classic insight that “no good deed goes unpunished.” While celebrating happy events like weddings and bar mitzvahs, I would praise a particular congregant or family in the community...
