Wilshire POV

As we approach the festival of Shavuot, most years (and this year included) we read from the torah portion Bamidbar - “in the wilderness”. For our ancestors, bamidbar meant leaving what they knew - slavery in Egypt. For us, bamidbar can infer leaving what we know. For us and our ancestors, bamidbar invokes traveling in uncertainty.In this week's Shabbat Message, Cantor Kerith Spencer-Shapiro asks, "When we feel that we are traveling in a wilderness, how can we bring equanimity to that untamed place?"Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of their choice, such as the week's Torah portion, a Jewish holiday, ritual, custom, or history. Facebook: Wilshire Boulevard TempleWebsite: wbtla.orgYoutube: Wilshire Boulevard TempleInstagram: wilshireboulevardtemple

For weeks we have been wading through the many ritual laws of the book of Leviticus, known in Hebrew as Vayikra.  In short, Vayikra consists of rules about a specific holy place (Mishkan), with very specific kinds of sacrifices (korbanot), that can only be performed by a specific group of people, the priests (Cohanim), who are the mediators between God and the Israelites.And then this week's double portion, Acharei Mot-Kedoshim, arrives on the scene and everything changes. We get what is affectionately referred to as the “Holiness Code.”Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of their choice, such as the week's Torah portion, a Jewish holiday, ritual, custom, or history. Facebook: Wilshire Boulevard TempleWebsite: wbtla.orgYoutube: Wilshire Boulevard TempleInstagram: wilshireboulevardtemple

We are currently in the midst of the Book of Leviticus, a book dedicated to both the concept of purity and, more importantly, the values and actions a community must adhere to in order to create a holy society. We are a people who spend the majority of our central text wandering through a barren wilderness, just like that little boy, Bodin, in Arizona, found safe with only minor scratches, thanks to the a rancher's dog's unwavering protection for sixteen hours while rescuers searched.As we learn in this week's Torah portion, we have an obligation to look out for one another and assist each individual in navigating the wilderness with dignity and compassion.Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of their choice, such as the week's Torah portion, a Jewish holiday, ritual, custom, or history. Facebook: Wilshire Boulevard TempleWebsite: wbtla.orgYoutube: Wilshire Boulevard TempleInstagram: wilshireboulevardtemple

Spring has arrived in Southern California, signaling a time to embrace warmer weather and prepare for Passover. Rabbi Hannah Elkin expands beyond the story of the Exodus from Egypt and shares the other Jewish traditions, including the reading of Song of Songs, symbolizing new beginnings.This seasonal transition is mirrored in the Torah portion, Parashat Vayikra, which calls for spiritual and emotional purification. Despite the challenges of the recent winter, including fires and floods, there is hope that the beauty of the earth and our spirits will blossom anew. As we approach Passover, may this time of renewal bring love, beauty, and fresh starts for all.Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of their choice, such as the week's Torah portion, a Jewish holiday, ritual, custom, or history. Facebook: Wilshire Boulevard TempleWebsite: wbtla.orgYoutube: Wilshire Boulevard TempleInstagram: wilshireboulevardtemple

For this week's Shabbat Message, Rabbi Leah Lewis reflects on the emotional weight of Passover this year, marked by the ongoing captivity of 59 Israelis in Gaza. Yet, Passover also emphasizes the coexistence of bitterness and sweetness—represented through traditional foods and rituals. This duality is echoed in the reading of Song of Songs during Passover, a poetic celebration of love and hope. Finding sweetness amid sorrow is a form of redemption, and that love—whether divine or human—holds sacred power to uplift us, even in broken times.Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of their choice, such as the week's Torah portion, a Jewish holiday, ritual, custom, or history. Facebook: Wilshire Boulevard TempleWebsite: wbtla.orgYoutube: Wilshire Boulevard TempleInstagram: wilshireboulevardtemple

Rabbi Joel Nickerson, on the occasion of his installation as the seventh Senior Rabbi in Wilshire Boulevard Temple's 163-year history, shares four pillars that will shape our future together: Hope, Vision, Community, and Courage. These words serve as the foundation for the next chapter of our Temple's journey.  Tikvah, the Hope to inspire the next generation, Chazon, the Vision to innovate boldly, Kehillah, the Community to bring comfort and inspiration, and Ometz, the Courage to lead with conviction and bravery - we will reach new heights, together.Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of their choice, such as the week's Torah portion, a Jewish holiday, ritual, custom, or history. Facebook: Wilshire Boulevard TempleWebsite: wbtla.orgYoutube: Wilshire Boulevard TempleInstagram: wilshireboulevardtemple

This week's Shabbat message comes from Cantor Lisa Peicott—not just as a clergy member, but as a mother. As we collectively mourn the devastating loss of Kfir and Ariel, the heartbreaking fate of the Bibas family, Cantor Peicott offers a promise—to Kfir and Ariel, to her own children, and to us all. "I promise to hope." "Hope is not easy, hope is not pretty, hope is not a zero sum game, but it's who I believe we are. It is what has sustained us through plague, pogrom, and endless persecution. In the darkest of times, when the anger and the rage threatens to become all consuming, we choose hope. We have to believe that things can be better than our current reality."  Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of their choice, such as the week's Torah portion, a Jewish holiday, ritual, custom, or history. Facebook: Wilshire Boulevard TempleWebsite: wbtla.orgYoutube: Wilshire Boulevard TempleInstagram: wilshireboulevardtemple

In this week's Shabbat message, Rabbi Nickerson shares the not-often-thought of origins of Valentine's Day and invites us to reflect on the origins of our core Jewish values from this week's Torah portion Parashat Yitro. These core principles such as dignity, healthy disagreement, loving kindness, and responsibility guide our community through challenging times and inspire action to repair the world. Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of their choice, such as the week's Torah portion, a Jewish holiday, ritual, custom, or history. Facebook: Wilshire Boulevard TempleWebsite: wbtla.orgYoutube: Wilshire Boulevard TempleInstagram: wilshireboulevardtemple

This week's Shabbat Message reflects on the overwhelming challenges faced in the present moment, comparing current crises—such as ongoing fires, a fragile ceasefire in Israel, and political shifts—to past periods of struggle, particularly the aftermath of the destruction of the Second Temple. In this time of uncertainty, we must stay connected, acknowledge the heaviness of the moment, and support one another through the shared burden, with the understanding that no one can face it alone.Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of their choice, such as the week's Torah portion, a Jewish holiday, ritual, custom, or history. Facebook: Wilshire Boulevard TempleWebsite: wbtla.orgYoutube: Wilshire Boulevard TempleInstagram: wilshireboulevardtemple

Rabbi Leah Fein shares this week's parsha, Shemot, which includes the most famous story of fire in the entire Torah: the Burning Bush, where Moses answers God's call with "Hineini" ("Here I am"), signifying readiness to act in times of crisis. Rabbi Fein reflects on how this spirit of Hineini has been embodied by the the community that has come together to provide aid during the devastating fires of Los Angeles, demonstrating their presence and willingness to help. The message of hope is clear: those affected by the fires are not alone, and the road to recovery will be supported by the community's enduring commitment.Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of their choice, such as the week's Torah portion, a Jewish holiday, ritual, custom, or history. Facebook: Wilshire Boulevard TempleWebsite: wbtla.orgYoutube: Wilshire Boulevard TempleInstagram: wilshireboulevardtemple

This week we begin the Joseph saga in our Torah. Chanukah may seem like an unlikely time to think about forgiveness. The author, Stephen Mitchell, associates Joseph's journey and character with the quality of forgiving in his retelling of the Joseph story, Joseph and the Way of Forgiveness.Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of their choice, such as the week's Torah portion, a Jewish holiday, ritual, custom, or history. Facebook: Wilshire Boulevard TempleWebsite: wbtla.orgYoutube: Wilshire Boulevard TempleInstagram: wilshireboulevardtemple

Many of us will have the blessing of sitting around a Thanksgiving table next week with members of our family with whom we share great joy and love. But others will be mourning the loss, and even death, of certain familial relationships. They will be looking across the table, maybe even smiling or laughing externally, but inside, they will be sitting with a pain that punctures their hearts....  One of the beauties of our Jewish tradition, and especially the Torah, is that it doesn't shy away from the most challenging and consequential issues in our lives. It is meant to open our hearts and minds to the complexities of the world and to raise awareness about the issues that may or may not affect us directly. Chances are that you, or someone you know, is dealing with some form of familial estrangement. To heal a fractured world requires us to open our hearts and offer comfort and love to those in pain.Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of their choice, such as the week's Torah portion, a Jewish holiday, ritual, custom, or history. Facebook: Wilshire Boulevard TempleWebsite: wbtla.orgYoutube: Wilshire Boulevard TempleInstagram: wilshireboulevardtemple

“An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.”-Sir Isaac NewtonBaked into the basic laws of physics, there is a fundamental truth that is being felt across the country, as we prepare to enter Shabbat this week. There exists a natural tendency to resist change in one's state of motion. That resistance is called inertia.Long before Sir Isaac Newton gave language to this tendency, inertia was illustrated in two journeys that began to take shape in this week's Torah portion.Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of their choice, such as the week's Torah portion, a Jewish holiday, ritual, custom, or history. Facebook: Wilshire Boulevard TempleWebsite: wbtla.orgYoutube: Wilshire Boulevard TempleInstagram: wilshireboulevardtemple

This week, we read of someone who exhibits a strong sense of agency over his own future in the face of forces beyond what he can control. Not long after God has created the world, corruption and lawlessness filled the earth. So God decides to send a flood to destroy it all, save for Noah, a man “righteous in his generation” (Genesis 6:9), along with Noah's family and two of each animal. God instructs Noah: “Make yourself an ark” (Gen 6:14). The Torah goes on to describe the details of the construction of the ark, a structure larger than a football field! But if God is powerful enough to create the world and powerful enough to destroy the world, then surely God could devise a supernatural way to save Noah and the other creatures that God deems worthy of saving. Why is Noah “making” anything, let alone a massive wooden ark, in order to be saved?Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of their choice, such as the week's Torah portion, a Jewish holiday, ritual, custom, or history. Facebook: Wilshire Boulevard TempleWebsite: wbtla.orgYoutube: Wilshire Boulevard TempleInstagram: wilshireboulevardtemple

When do you stop saying, “Shanah Tovah”? This is a question that clergy are commonly asked around this time of the Jewish year. Rabbi Hannah Elkin answers the question and offers an inspiring interpretation.Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of their choice, such as the week's Torah portion, a Jewish holiday, ritual, custom, or history. Facebook: Wilshire Boulevard TempleWebsite: wbtla.orgYoutube: Wilshire Boulevard TempleInstagram: wilshireboulevardtemple

Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of their choice, such as the week's Torah portion, a Jewish holiday, ritual, custom, or history. Facebook: Wilshire Boulevard TempleWebsite: wbtla.orgYoutube: Wilshire Boulevard TempleInstagram: wilshireboulevardtemple

It wasn't supposed to end this way.  He was supposed to come home.We saw her on TV, listened to her on podcasts, watched her and her husband, Jon, give speeches, and I even met with her this summer with a small group of us rabbis in Jerusalem.   Rachel Goldberg-Polin inspired us with her strength, her faith, and her mantra, “Hope is mandatory.” She represented every Jewish mother, fighting to the bitter end for her son's safe return.  Listen as Rabbi Joel Nickerson reflects on this week's Torah portion, Shoftim, which includes the famous phrase, tzedek, tzedek tirdof - justice, justice you shall pursue.  How are we supposed to pursue justice when fighting against an enemy with no moral compass?  Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of their choice, such as the week's Torah portion, a Jewish holiday, ritual, custom, or history. Facebook: Wilshire Boulevard TempleWebsite: wbtla.orgYoutube: Wilshire Boulevard TempleInstagram: wilshireboulevardtemple

Right now, we are in the final book of the Torah, Deuteronomy, as Moses prepares the Israelites to enter the Promised Land.  He outlines the values, priorities, and pitfalls they will face as they settle in this new land.  This week's portion, Re'eh, begins with Moses presenting the Israelites with two choices - “See, this day I set before you blessing and curse…”(Deut. 11:26). The Israelites can either build upon the solid foundation provided to them by the Torah and their predecessors, and be blessed, OR they can forget their past, forget their values, and be cursed.Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of their choice, such as the week's Torah portion, a Jewish holiday, ritual, custom, or history. Facebook: Wilshire Boulevard TempleWebsite: wbtla.orgYoutube: Wilshire Boulevard TempleInstagram: wilshireboulevardtemple

Nachamu, Nachamu ami, yomar eloheichemComfort, Comfort my people, says God…Tonight begins Shabbat Nachamu, the Shabbat of Comfort, named after the first few words of the Haftarah portion this week: Isaiah 40:1-26. Shabbat Nachamu directly follows the somber commemoration of Tisha B'Av (9th of Av), a day of mourning for the Jewish people, as we recall the destruction of the first and second temple, and immerse ourselves in the extent of human suffering in our world, which in the last ten months, have seemed rather endless….But tonight we take a deep breath and we attempt to let go of our sorrow and our pain. Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of their choice, such as the week's Torah portion, a Jewish holiday, ritual, custom, or history. Facebook: Wilshire Boulevard TempleWebsite: wbtla.orgYoutube: Wilshire Boulevard TempleInstagram: wilshireboulevardtemple

In this week's Shabbat message Rabbi Hannah Elkin comments on the theme of Teshuvah in this week's portion Devarim, in the world today, and in our personal lives. One definition of insanity is doing the same thing again and again, and expecting a different result. One definition of teshuvah is realizing that you are doing the wrong thing again and again, but then choosing to act differently. As the High Holy Days draw closer, we start taking important opportunities to look back on past behavior and wrong choices, and determine to do better moving forward. Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of their choice, such as the week's Torah portion, a Jewish holiday, ritual, custom, or history. Facebook: Wilshire Boulevard TempleWebsite: wbtla.orgYoutube: Wilshire Boulevard TempleInstagram: wilshireboulevardtemple

Cantor Kerith Spencer-Shapiro contemplates the links between generations in this week's Shabbat message. The Chatam Sofer taught, “There is always a difference between the older and younger generations…In the past, when the chain of the generations was stronger, the links more tightly intertwined one with the other…there was a more powerful spiritual connection between the generations.”Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of their choice, such as the week's Torah portion, a Jewish holiday, ritual, custom, or history. Facebook: Wilshire Boulevard TempleWebsite: wbtla.orgYoutube: Wilshire Boulevard TempleInstagram: wilshireboulevardtemple

I've been counting doorways this week. Yesterday I walked through over 50 thresholds. As I invited our meditation class to take a moment and think back through the day, envisioning all of the doorways we passed through, I took on the practice of treating every doorway I passed through this week as if it had a mezuzah installed upon it. When we take the time to pause in a doorway, to reach out and kiss the mezuzah, we connect to a powerful symbol. The mezuzah is a religious symbol but it holds much more than just a ritual practice. Yes, inside are the words of the Sh'ma, connecting us to God and the people of Israel. It's also encased in a beautiful outer shell as if to elevate those words that point toward oneness. Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of their choice, such as the week's Torah portion, a Jewish holiday, ritual, custom, or history. Facebook: Wilshire Boulevard TempleWebsite: wbtla.orgYoutube: Wilshire Boulevard TempleInstagram: wilshireboulevardtemple

It was when my daughter, now thirteen, was part of the infant and toddler program in her Early Childhood Center that I gained a new appreciation for the ‘fight or flight' response of human behavior. It is a term that I had always heard but never truly understood. That is, until I was there myself and had an opportunity to watch these new crawlers learn to navigate their way with through their shared space. Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of their choice, such as the week's Torah portion, a Jewish holiday, ritual, custom, or history. Facebook: Wilshire Boulevard TempleWebsite: wbtla.orgYoutube: Wilshire Boulevard TempleInstagram: wilshireboulevardtemple

At a certain point, freedom without structure turns to chaos, and Moses has been tasked to turn this rag-tag bunch into a people, into a collective, into a community. But the journey from independence to a stable collective is hard. Rabbi Elkin leads us through this week's Torah portion, Korach, and some of its modern parallels.Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of their choice, such as the week's Torah portion, a Jewish holiday, ritual, custom, or history. Facebook: Wilshire Boulevard TempleWebsite: wbtla.orgYoutube: Wilshire Boulevard TempleInstagram: wilshireboulevardtemple

One of the first pieces of music I ever learned was from the musical “South Pacific.” For those of you who may not be so up to date on your American musical knowledge, I will summarize. The plot centers on an American nurse, Nellie Forbush, stationed in the South Pacific during World War II. Nellie falls in love with a middle-aged expatriate French plantation owner, but struggles to accept his mixed-race children. Now place all of this racial tension on an unnamed island in the South Pacific, during the raging battles of World War II, and you have a 10-time Tony award-winning musical, but I digress…Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of their choice, such as the week's Torah portion, a Jewish holiday, ritual, custom, or history. Facebook: Wilshire Boulevard TempleWebsite: wbtla.orgYoutube: Wilshire Boulevard TempleInstagram: wilshireboulevardtemple

I just returned from a week-long silent Jewish mindfulness meditation retreat. Yes, you read that correctly - Jewish and silent. So, what do 50-some Jews ranging in age from their early 20's through their 70s do when we come together in silence?One of our practices was to engage in a blessing practice. I've often wondered why we aren't also known as the people of blessing along with being called people of the book. We Jews have a blessing for everything. Every moment in life is seen as significant and worthy enough to take a moment, take a breath, slow down, bless, and only then engage in the activity. Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of their choice, such as the week's Torah portion, a Jewish holiday, ritual, custom, or history. Facebook: Wilshire Boulevard TempleWebsite: wbtla.orgYoutube: Wilshire Boulevard TempleInstagram: wilshireboulevardtemple

Despite the continued presence of “May Gray” in the mornings, summer is undeniably on its way. And as the weather warms, I've been reminded of a game that my cousins and I used to play in the summers growing up. Swimming in the pool, we would each take turns holding our breath and seeing how far we could swim underwater on that single breath. One by one we would swim as far as we could, and then stand in place to mark our distance. I always wanted to go last, because I found it easiest to know just how far I had to go to win. I remember straining and struggling to swim as my oxygen levels dipped, thinking to myself, “I just need to get there, just a few more strokes to get to the end, and then I can breathe!” Perhaps you played this game as well.Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of their choice, such as the week's Torah portion, a Jewish holiday, ritual, custom, or history. Facebook: Wilshire Boulevard TempleWebsite: wbtla.orgYoutube: Wilshire Boulevard TempleInstagram: wilshireboulevardtemple

This year, as we make our way through Passover, it feels as though we are in our own wilderness. We may feel secluded, without a real sense of direction, almost shell-shocked, as we view images and videos of these terrible campus protests, complete with anti-Israel sentiment, overt antisemitism, and a brewing storm of frustration, chaos, and anger.Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of their choice, such as the week's Torah portion, a Jewish holiday, ritual, custom, or history. Facebook: Wilshire Boulevard TempleWebsite: wbtla.orgYoutube: Wilshire Boulevard TempleInstagram: wilshireboulevardtemple

Each year, we perform bedikat chametz, searching and cleansing the house of bread products, as the first ritual of Passover. We go around to each shelf of the pantry, the refrigerator and freezer, and scrape away the crust that has built up over the last year to start fresh. This ritual acts as a spiritual cleansing as well, and it gives us concrete baby steps in this season of freedom: before we can liberate the world, we start by liberating our kitchens. Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of their choice, such as the week's Torah portion, a Jewish holiday, ritual, custom, or history. Facebook: Wilshire Boulevard TempleWebsite: wbtla.orgYoutube: Wilshire Boulevard TempleInstagram: wilshireboulevardtemple

The Story of Esther, with all of its twists and turns,  knows this painful truth about life, and I believe our tradition gives us the keys to navigating the darkness around us. Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of their choice, such as the week's Torah portion, a Jewish holiday, ritual, custom, or history. Facebook: Wilshire Boulevard TempleWebsite: wbtla.orgYoutube: Wilshire Boulevard TempleInstagram: wilshireboulevardtemple

A pillar of hope and a dark cloud frame Rabbi Joel Nickerson's Shabbat Message this week. Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of their choice, such as the week's Torah portion, a Jewish holiday, ritual, custom, or history. Facebook: Wilshire Boulevard TempleWebsite: wbtla.orgYoutube: Wilshire Boulevard TempleInstagram: wilshireboulevardtemple

I was delighted to lead a micro-mission to Israel with 4 of our congregants. The trip was designed to coincide with the ceremony in which my 21 year old son completed basic training and received his red paratrooper's beret from the IDF. With the many twists and turns of the ongoing war with Hamas, the ceremony was delayed by a week. The volunteering and solidarity mission healed small cracked fissures and filled my heart. So much so that I boarded the plane home on Monday knowing my son would be sufficiently supported with his brother Yoni by his side representing our family. I sent him this letter and he was fine that I share it with you.Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of their choice, such as the week's Torah portion, a Jewish holiday, ritual, custom, or history. Facebook: Wilshire Boulevard TempleWebsite: wbtla.orgYoutube: Wilshire Boulevard TempleInstagram: wilshireboulevardtemple

Last night I had dinner with a woman visiting from Israel who represents the Jewish mindfulness organization Or HaLev. We spent a good amount of time talking about her experience, and her family, and how her practice of meditation has helped her garner resilience during such a terribly difficult time for her and her family. She then asked me what do Jewish leaders - rabbis and cantors, especially - need at this time from an organization like Or HaLev. And that led to a discussion about anti-semitism here in the US. Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of their choice, such as the week's Torah portion, a Jewish holiday, ritual, custom, or history.

This week in the secular, entertainment calendar, we find ourselves right in the middle of the most holy season: award season. And of course award season includes endless red carpets and the striking fashion that comes along with it. As celebrities make their way down the red carpet, some looks will become iconic, some fine but unmemorable, and some declared to be the worst. In the Torah portion this week, the High Priest and his fabulous ensemble are not to be outdone.Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of their choice, such as the week's Torah portion, a Jewish holiday, ritual, custom, or history.

‘“The Eternal spoke to Moses saying: Tell the Israelites that they should bring me an offering, from every person whose heart is willing, bring for me a gift” (Exodus 25:1-2). Grammatically, we must ask why it says a “gift,” which connotes raising up?'This question brought me back to my 1st year biblical hebrew class, and the word used for an offering or gift, terumah. In that hebrew word are the root letters, resh and mem. These two letters can form words that mean to lift up, raise up, or make higher, and so on. The idea that when we give a gift, that we are elevated to a higher place. That we become closer to God, or to holiness itself. Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of their choice, such as the week's Torah portion, a Jewish holiday, ritual, custom, or history.

I received a text earlier this week from a congregant who sent me a picture of himself buying his first pair of tefillin. The picture was accompanied by the caption, “How my mornings start now.” To be honest, this is not someone I would have ever expected to wrap tefillinEach week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of their choice, such as the week's Torah portion, a Jewish holiday, ritual, custom, or history.

It is always a good day when a child takes the words right out of a rabbi's mouth. Last Sunday afternoon at religious school at the Resnick campus, I shared the story of this week's Torah portion (as the Torah portion each week runs from Sunday-Saturday) with the Kindergarten-2nd Grade students. As I began the story of Moses confronting Pharaoh to let the Israelites out of slavery and into freedom, I told them that I had a question for them at the end, so they needed to listen very closely. We listed off each of the Ten Plagues together, which were brought on both by Pharaoh's stubbornness and then God's own part in hardening Pharaoh's heart. I was just about to ask the big question that I had prepared them for when a little voice piped up. “Wait, why did God harden Pharaoh's heart? Why would God do that?” My question exactly, I said.Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of their choice, such as the week's Torah portion, a Jewish holiday, ritual, custom, or history.

This year, the opening and closing of the parashah Vayeitzei provide another unique view into our modern circumstances. Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of their choice, such as the week's Torah portion, a Jewish holiday, ritual, custom, or history.

This week, Rabbi Joel Nickerson was invited to speak to the student body at St. James Episcopal School, a K-6 school in Koreatown. How do you share what the Jewish community is experiencing right now with a predominantly non-Jewish audience and in a way that is age-appropriate for Kindergarten through 6th-grade students? You tell the truth, and you focus on hope.  I share it with you today because I think it is essential for each of us to find our own ways to share the current Jewish experience with our non-Jewish friends, colleagues, peers, and acquaintances.Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of their choice, such as the week's Torah portion, a Jewish holiday, ritual, custom, or history.

This week's torah portion, Chayei Sarah, directly follows the episode of the “Akeida”, where God orders Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son, Isaac. Throughout the centuries, there have been countless studies devoted to the incomprehensible dedication shown by Abraham in his willingness to follow through on God's command. We're astonished that Abraham could put aside the compassion he obviously felt for his son and resignedly carry out the dreadful task he had been dealt.We're never told what Abraham's wife, Sarah, knew of his plan that day. But if she had even an inkling of Abraham's intentions…well, as a fellow mother, I can intuitively imagine the storm of anxiety and despair that would have been raging in her breaking heart. This boy, Isaac—for whom Sarah had prayed; whom Sarah had carried for nine months; whom all of Sarah's hopes and dreams were bound up in—was in grave danger, and there was nothing his mother could do to protect him. Considering the heart-stopping anxiety Abraham and his family must have endured through this ordeal, it perhaps comes as little surprise when we learn, at the start of this week's subsequent torah passage, that Sarah has passed…Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of their choice, such as the week's Torah portion, a Jewish holiday, ritual, custom, or history.

Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of their choice, such as the week's Torah portion, a Jewish holiday, ritual, custom, or history.

Our Torah portion this week, Ki Tavo, includes an important mitzvah for tending to these fruits and crops. As Deut. 26 teaches, when the bikkurim, the first fruits of the season, appear in your fields, you must gather them up and bring them to the priests as an offering to God. We cannot eat them ourselves. It is a curious offering, however, because the first produce of the crop is often not the best. Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of their choice, such as the week's Torah portion, a Jewish holiday, ritual, custom, or history.

Just before the start of Summer, my husband and I experienced a right of passage for any Jewish parent. We witnessed our oldest son be “Shabbat Boy,” at Wilshire Boulevard Temple's Early Childhood Center.One of the highlights of the morning was the “mitzvah song.” The whole class (grown ups included) sits around in a circle, while the Shabbat child, in this case, Joey, walks around collecting each child's tzedakah, their charity for Shabbat. Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of their choice, such as the week's Torah portion, a Jewish holiday, ritual, custom, or history.

The images coming out of Israel earlier this week seemed to offer a different, more somber version of the gathering I had attended. On Monday, the government's coalition in the Knesset approved a provision that removed the Supreme Court's authority to determine if a government decision is ‘reasonable', popularly known as the ‘reasonableness clause.'  Most Israelis saw this clause as an important element of checks and balances to ensure government coalitions didn't make decisions that unreasonably preferenced certain groups or minimized the role of others. While most agree that elements of the Israeli judicial system could benefit from some ‘reforms', the months of protests seem to represent an awakening among Israelis that the government's strategies for implementing such reforms don't align with most Israelis' understanding of how Israel's democracy should operate.Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of their choice, such as the week's Torah portion, a Jewish holiday, ritual, custom, or history.

As many of you know, I am the mother of Joey (3.5) and Ezra (1). Joe and I are deep in what social media refers to as “the trenches” of parenthood. Sleepless nights, potty training, diapers, first steps, baby proofing, and of course epic toddler meltdowns are part of our daily routine, as our personal lives are spent in sheer survival mode. I know many of you have been there, but after a long day of survival mode, I often have to stop and remind myself that this wonderful, albeit challenging season of my life (ages 0-4), is short – A mere pitstop in the roadmap of my parenting life. In this week's double Torah portion, Matot Massei, we have arrived at the last chapter of B'midbar. The Israelites are located on the edge of the Jordan River, about to cross into the land of Israel, and we are given a long and very detailed travel itinerary of their decades spent wandering in the desert. 

In this week's Torah portion, a “man of repute,” by the name of Korach, and his 250 followers rebel against Moses, and his brother Aaron. In true biblical fashion, a sacrifice gauntlet is tossed, and each of the 250 rebels are asked to offer an incense burning before God, to see which leader God accepts. Spoiler alert, the ground opens up and swallows Korach, his two sidekicks and their families. If that wasn't a clear enough message, a heavenly fire shoots up, and consumes all 250 of the followers. Korach and his rebellion are destroyed. So what horrific things did this rebel without a cause have to say?

The Israelites were flipping out. Freedom and having faith in God was not going so well. The Israelites are whining. A lot. Bad goes to worse in this week's portion. Moses sends 12 scouts to check out the land flowing with milk and honey. Moses wants to uplift the people by giving them a glimpse into the Promised Land. 12 scouts go out. 12 come back.

One of the most profound stories in the Talmud is about a man called Honi the Circle Maker. One day, Honi is walking down the street when he meets an old man who is planting a carob tree. Honi asks the man how long the tree will take to bear fruit. “Seventy years,” answers the old fellow. Mocking him, Honi asks why he would plant a tree that he might never eat from. “I was born into a world with carob trees,” the man replies,” and just as my ancestors planted trees for me, so too will I plant them for my children and their children after them.”Soon after, Honi eats a meal and falls asleep for decades. Upon awaking, Honi sees a different man gathering fruit from a fully-grown carob tree. “Did you plant that tree, he asks. “No,” answers the man, “it was my grandfather.” At that moment, Honi realizes he'd been asleep for 70 years.

My Shabbat message was going to focus on Mother's Day.  I wanted to explore the tragic tale of the holiday's founder, Anna M. Jarvis, and the lessons we can learn from her story.  I wanted to discuss the central Jewish value of honoring parents and our ancestral mothers' influence on the Jewish concept of ‘home'.  But then the news started coming out of Israel about airstrikes and air raid sirens, and my thoughts and energy turned to the mothers and families who have huddled in shelters for the past several days.

This week gives us a double dose of Torah portions as we read Acharei-Mot and Kedoshim. If we read the titles in a certain way it poses a probing question. Acharei-Mot? Kedoshim? “After death? Are we holy?” or “How can we know that when our lives are over, where we are after death that holiness remains?”  As we read a little further, the Torah's answer becomes clear.  

The first time I really heard about the suffering of Persian Jews  -- not just in snippets, but in detail - was last week. This past Sunday, I cohosted an event with Sinai Temple to hear Dora Levy Mossanen, a Persian Jewish author, talk about her latest book, which took place in the Jewish Quarter of Teheran in the 1940's.Fifty women gathered in the beautiful home our Persian Jewish hostess – half from Wilshire Boulevard Temple and half from Sinai to learn about the lives and treatment of Jews in Iran not just after the Islamic Revolution, but also before. The indignities, the insults, the pervasive dislike and distaste for Jews, the discrimination, the belief that Jews were not only inferior but unclean was a daily fact of life. And then, after the Islamic revolution, came the arrests, the brutality, the loss of property and civil rights, the terror, the firing squads, the fleeing in the middle of the night with only the clothes on their backs.