It’s Not Too Late to Change Your Narrative

by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 7, 2023 | Psalms, Repentance

When Psalm 92 is mentioned, most minds jump immediately to the Sabbath. Rightly so, given its opening declaration: “a song for the Sabbath day.” Indeed, this psalm was sung in the Temple every Sabbath and is still an integral part of our Sabbath prayers. However,...

Torah from the Heart

by Mindy Rubenstein | f 23, 2023 | Repentance, Va'etchanan

Sixteen years ago, my husband and I–with our two toddlers–attended a beautiful Shabbat dinner with a rabbi and his family. Though I was born Jewish, I was brought up secular and had little connection to Judaism until then. At that meal I literally fell in...

Conversations with God

by Mindy Rubenstein | f 22, 2023 | Joel, Repentance

I grew up secular: American first, Jewish by birth. No one in my circle of family or friends talked about God. Life as I knew it was about work, food and intellect. My extended family includes medical directors, college deans, lawyers, judges, scientists and...

My Unconventional Hebrew Name

by Mindy Rubenstein | f 17, 2023 | Elul, Repentance

My great-grandparents, Moshe and Kayla (Morris and Katy) Tanenbaum, for whom I am named, came from religious families in Ukraine and tried to preserve their Jewish life even in the U.S. Katy’s father, Fishel Rubin, was a rabbi and sent his daughter far away from the...

Return to Yourself

by Mindy Rubenstein | f 17, 2023 | Elul, Repentance

On the Jewish calendar, the Hebrew month of Elul begins tonight. This will be my second month of Elul in Israel. My family and I made Aliyah last September, two weeks before the High Holiday season. I was so excited and overwhelmed by the newness of our...

The Portion of Metzorah (Leviticus 14:1-15:33)

by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 9, 2023 | Holiness, Israel, Metzorah, Purity, Repentance

This week’s Torah portion describes the purification of a recovered metzora, or leper, by the priest through a specific procedure involving two birds, spring water stored in an earthen vessel, a piece of cedar wood, a scarlet thread, and a bundle of hyssop. Tzaraat,...