When I sit with students to prepare for b'nei mitzvah, I ask them a series of three questions. The first is, "What do you like about being Jewish?" The answers usually include “being part of something larger than themselves or on tactile things like food, family, and holiday celebrations. The second is, "What do you find difficult about being Jewish?" Before October 7th, the answer was usually fasting-- or fear of fasting-- on Yom Kippur.  Nowadays their concerns have shifted

Good Yontif. During the time of Napoleon, a boy was born in Poland. His arrival brought his family so much joy that they gave him a name to reflect it: Simcha. It quickly became clear that Simcha was an ilui, a child prodigy, and someone worth listening to. In time, Simcha became a great and influential Hasidic rebbe. One of his most famous teachings tries to get us to balance humility and ego:  “A person should always carry two slips of paper, one in each pocket. “On one you

Early the next morning, Abraham saddled his ass and took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. He split the wood for the burnt offering, and he set out for the place of which God had told him.

Presented by Rabbinical Intern Morgan Tobey One of the little gifts of 5785 for me has been a daily Facebook video series from one of my...