by Eliyahu Berkowitz | f 5, 2022 | Antisemitism, Chanukah, Chosen Nation, God, Prayer, Psalms, Tests and Trials
Hanukkah is quickly approaching and I am reminded of a joke my father, of blessed memory, used to tell every year after lighting the candles. With the doughnuts and potato pancakes arranged on the table and waiting to be eaten, my dad would announce, “They tried to...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 4, 2022 | God, Holiness, Israel, Resurrection, Vayishlach
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz The Biblical account of Jacob’s first encounter with God is an amazing story. He dreams of a ladder connecting heaven and earth, with angels ascending and descending the ladder. Understandably shaken, Jacob declares that the site where the...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 1, 2022 | God, Israel, Miracles, Psalms
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz When composing Psalms, David was a wordsmith, creating images and expressions that have been the focus of devotion for thousands of years. This was clearly seen in Psalm 17. What begins as an appeal to the sense of hearing, “heed my...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 29, 2022 | Faith, God, Psalms
By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz I think I am blessed that I grew up before the internet took over the world. I would hate for some social media program to remind me of the foolish ideas I had when I was young every time I logged on. But in Psalm 16, David himself reflects...
by Rabbi Tuly Weisz | f 24, 2022 | Antisemitism, Chosen Nation, Community, Covenant, God, Gratitude, Israel, Psalms, Tests and Trials
The recent surge in antisemitism from the Black Hebrew community regurgitates age-old tropes, namely that another group has replaced the Jews as God’s Chosen People. When Christianity first broke off from Judaism 2,000 years ago, the younger religion claimed that...
by Eliyahu Berkowitz | f 14, 2022 | God, Good and Evil, Justice, Psalms, Tests and Trials
David’s journey to kingship was not easy. Obstacles stood in his way and evil men attacked him. But David had a perspective on this that leveraged these difficulties to help his devotion to God. This was expressed in Psalm 11: Hashem seeks out the righteous man but...