On the question of when one should or should not sit down with an adversary, September 1938 is as good – or bad – a date as any to begin the conversation.
September 09, 2018
A Sense of Decency
Occasion(s) / Rosh Hashanah
There are people, explains the Talmud, who koneh olamo b’sha·ah ehat (Avodah Zarah 10b), who “acquire eternity in a moment,” and for Joseph Welch, that moment occurred on June 9, 1954. The context was a post-war America unnerved by fears of Communist influence and subversion.
September 08, 2018
Coming Home
Occasion(s) / Rosh Hashanah
Truth be told, Alaska was never on my bucket list of places to visit. I would have been just fine picking up the kids from summer camp on the West Coast, spending a few days with my family in LA, and returning to New York without ever leaving the “Lower 48.” But Debbie had other plans.
September 07, 2018
Standing Here This Day
Occasion(s) / Nitzavim
Professor Jack Wertheimer is a person whom I admire and respect.
May 14, 2018
What Was Missing from the Embassy Ceremonies
Occasion(s) / Other
Reprinted from
The Jewish Week | jewishweek.timesofisrael.com
March 03, 2018
Climb Every Mountain
Occasion(s) / Ki Tissa
For those of you visiting Park Avenue Synagogue for the first time, and for any regulars who do not read your synagogue emails or Bulletins, this morning is my final Shabbat prior to beginning a four-month sabbatical.
January 20, 2018
Oy Jerusalem
Occasion(s) / Bo
On account of a bungled invitation, the Talmud teaches, Jerusalem was destroyed and the Jewish people exiled from their land.
January 06, 2018
Rabbi Neil Gillman, z"l
Occasion(s) / Sh’mot
It was with a heavy heart that I heard the news last month of the passing of Rabbi Neil Gillman at the age of 84. Rabbi Gillman was a profound thinker, prolific author, and preeminent theologian at the Jewish Theological Seminary, where I trained as a rabbi.
December 09, 2017
Don't Let the Light Go Out
Occasion(s) / Va-yeishev
If there is a lesson to be had, and consolation to be found, in the upcoming festival of Hanukkah, which begins Tuesday night, it is that the challenges we face as American-Jews are not as new as may believe.
November 11, 2017
Survival or Renewal
Occasion(s) / Hayyei Sarah
In every generation, Jews have openly wondered whether they would be the last Jewish generation to walk this earth. At the beginning of today’s Torah reading, Abraham’s wife, Sarah, the matriarch of our people, passes from this earth.