Young Jews: Every Voice Matters
“For they (the teachings) are our life source, and what lengthen our days, and so we meditate on them day and night.”— Siddur This past week I arrived at Camp Yavneh in New Hampshire. It is my first...
View ArticleA Rabbi Mourns African American Christians
“’…But, mother, I won’t be alone. Other children will go with me, And march the streets of Birmingham to make our country free.’ ‘No, baby, no, you may not go, for I fear those guns will fire. But you...
View ArticleFrom Monsey to Istanbul
Whenever I visit somewhere new, whether in my country of origin or somewhere foreign, I typically stand on the periphery at first to “take it all in.” As Friday night services ended at a new place...
View ArticleCan I Identify with the Struggles of Others?
As a youth, I often felt as if I had two worlds and two cultures that were always with me (Genesis 25:2). Born and raised in Monsey, NY in a context of the Chabad Lubavitch community, with an...
View ArticleFor My Camper, Ezra Schwartz
As I approached the Temple Sinai of Sharon, Massachusetts the words of King David’s Psalms could be heard from the street, and the pulsing prayers on Ezra’s behalf were rising skyward. Police and...
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MLK Day: My Second Birthday
Many see Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a day off, but for my family, it’s a second birthday. The reason why my family always cherished this day is because in its essence, MLK Jr. Day captures my very...
View ArticleMothers, Judaism’s Heroes
What does it mean to be hero in Judaism, and who to me represents that more than anyone? For me, a hero is someone who in spite of adversity, still manages to build a world around her that is for the...
View ArticleWhat It Was Like To Grow Up Multiracial and Orthodox in a Hasidic Enclave
They were older than me, by at least five years, and I was afraid. Though my Satmar Hasidic neighbors were my friends, their cousins usually approached me with disdain whenever I’d go over for a...
View ArticleGod Does Not Discriminate; People Do
Of all the words that I heard prayed as a child during the High-Holidays, there was one prayer that stood out and puzzled me: …may it be God’s will …that peace spread across the world, with the entire...
View ArticleTrip to Africa Redefines Family for African-American Rabbi
As we begin this new year, and the coldest months are still in front of us, I want to share with you a piece of my journey this year, and a personal moment of transformation. A moment which I could...
View ArticleAchieving Shalom
Commonly defined as peace, hello and goodbye, Shalom cannot simply be translated and then understood by its English description. In Western society peace of mind, is often described as a getaway to the...
View ArticleLighting to be Seen
“He was a tall man with broad shoulders, the type we used to call ‘a real goliath,’ powerful and with an unusual personality to boot. Unlike most of the Jews, he had no problem walking to his work,...
View ArticleWe Need More than a Sneeze
Before attaining my Master of Social Work, I had the honor of helping many sick people live out their final months comfortable in hospice. Clients passed away, loved ones wailed as the coffin is...
View ArticleA Lesson from Moses to Martin Luther King Jr.
During my childhood, I never understood why I found myself needing to adapt differently depending on which parent I was walking with: my black mother, or my white father. But then the stares grew...
View ArticleBalanced Like the Trees
“He (Moses) said: “If you will listen diligently to the voice of HaShem, your God, and you will do what is just in His eyes, and you will give ear to His commandments and observe all His statues, then...
View ArticleThe Rabbi, The Pastor and the Torah of Mankind
The baggage claim at the airport in Gondar, Ethiopia is still by far the most humorous way I have yet to collect my luggage after flying. A massive crate is hauled from the plane and dumped into a...
View ArticleThe King’s Gate
Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” –Viktor E. Frankl This idea came...
View ArticleAt Purim, We Shall Overcome
This past week I had the pleasure of attending the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference. With inspiring speakers, expressions of hope and dreams for a better world, and an...
View ArticleThe Power of Jewish Blessings
Blessings are a portal to the Infinite. They are the utterances and sentiments shared by us and our ancestors for thousands of years. In the Torah, blessings are seen as a conduit for spiritual and...
View ArticleNever Give Up on Humanity
The Hebrew month of Tishrei is woven with a 3,000-year-old annual campaign to love, cherish and protect humanity’s common bond and to never give up on the world and its inhabitants. On Rosh Hashanah,...
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