Rabbi Heller's Blog

I’m a last-minute kind of person, which is why I appreciate the holidays of Hoshana Raba (Friday) Shemini Atzeret (Saturday) and Simchat Torah (Sunday). Each of them has a distinct flavor, with opportunities for repentance, spiritual growth, and joy, but all of them represent a different aspect of the closing of a season.

Hoshana Raba is the last day of Sukkot, the last opportunity to shake lulav or sit in a...Read more...

This week we read parashat Nitzavim, in which Moses gathers the entire nation to warn them of the potential consequences of their actions, positive and negative. One of his more colorful turns of his phrase is that people will think in their hearts “I will be safe following my heart’s urges”, but this will lead to something terrible. In Hebrew, the phrase is “Lema’an sfot haravah et hatzmeah” which could be read to mean,...Read more...

This week, we begin the Hebrew month of Elul, and the season of repentance. We also read a Torah portion, Shoftim, which describes in depth the organizational structure that the Jewish people are to set for themselves in the promised land. King, prophets, priests, generals, elders, judges and officers each have their role in ensuring an orderly civil society. 

The portion begins by commanding that judges and officers...Read more...

This weeks’ Torah portion includes a broken letter- the only time that this is permitted in a Torah scroll. There is an ancient tradition (dating back to the Talmud) that the word Shalom (“peace”) must be written with a gap, a break, in the letter vav. This is surprising because normally, even a single broken letter, out of hundreds of thousands, would invalidate an entire scroll. Indeed, in one of our scrolls, an inexpert scribe...Read more...

When I was growing up in the New York area, the Salute to Israel Parade was one of the events that brought together almost every element of the  entire Jewish community. On a Sunday in early June, we schlepped in from the suburbs to march up Fifth Avenue, wearing our proudest blue and white. Many years, various Israeli dignitaries and Jewish (or Jewish adjacent) politicians would participate as our songs and chants reverberated across...Read more...

How do we value people? The fact that we are created in the image of God should mean that every person has infinite value and there is no way to compare one human being to another. In reality, we do have to offer evaluations and comparisons. Personal injury attorneys ask juries to put a price on people’s very...Read more...

Just over a week ago, I had the privilege of observing Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance day, in Israel. It is remarkable to see the 10AM memorial siren bring huge segments of the country come to a stop. People emerge from their cars and stand at attention, remembering the overwhelming losses of 80 years ago. A week later, the country halted again as Israelis commemorated Yom Hazikaron, Israel’s memorial day for its fallen,...Read more...

The first half book of Leviticus strikes fear into the hearts of sermonizers, homileticists, and B’nai Mitzvah. The next few weeks of our Torah reading will focus on the sacrificial order, and it would seem there are only so many ways that you can talk about burnt offerings and the sprinkling of fat upon the altar.  However, even in the midst of presenting a ritual order that seems so alien to us, the Torah reflected values that...Read more...

When is enough not enough?

   This week, in addition to the "HaHodesh" introduction to the month of Passover, we read Parashat Vayakhel-Pekudei, which describes the implementation of the construction of the Tabernacle, carrying out the plans that had been given to Moses previously.  The Israelites and their leaders bring gifts of every type of material imaginable: gold, silver, jewels, precious fabrics, simple yarn,...Read more...

Purim begins this Monday night. We think of it as a fun holiday, with gragger noisemakers, costumes, and hamantaschen cookies with fillings delectable and deleterious. Megillah readings, shpiels and sing-alongs bring raucous merriment, and there is often just a bit of drinking as well. To see all we have planned, see bnaitorah.org/purim. These festivities mask (pun intended) an existential philosophical message, “Vehanafoch...Read more...

Many of us have been watching the news from Israel, as the new government has proposed laws and policy changes which have prompted weekly protests of over 100,000 Israelis, but few here in the US have a clear understanding what is really at stake.  As always, our Torah tradition offers insights.  It starts, but does not end, with judges.

This week the portion we read is called Mishpatim.  It includes many of the...Read more...

I rotate multiple Humashim (Torah commentaries/translations)  through the prime spot on my desk. Two that have a permanent spot in the rotation are the Orthodox "Artscroll Chumash" that we have been using in our sanctuary, and the Conservative Etz Hayim Humash that we give our B’nai Mitzvah students. The Humashim have very different approaches, not only in how they spell the very title of the book (H vs CH), but also with how they...Read more...

It is homiletically convenient that weekend of Thanksgiving almost always coincides with one of the Shabbatot when we read the saga of Jacob and Esau. The portions provide great fodder for sermonizing, with the drama of family conflict and its resolution, the power of shared meals to create relationships, and the travail of journeying. However, the story’s core is about the nature of blessings and thanks. What does it really...Read more...

While many are focused on US elections currently underway, the Israeli election that took place this week also deserves careful attention. I am proud that Israel is the only country in the Middle East where Jews and Arabs are allowed to be citizens and vote in truly free elections. I will always support the country and its people. However, it is worth considering why the results of this election may give cause for concern, and,...Read more...

There are certain moments, certain experiences, that define a community. There are moments that are frozen in memory, that serve as mile markers for our history. Nitzvaim describes one such moment, as the Israelites were weeks away from entering the Promised land, and Moses gathered them together for remarkable words. Our community is preparing to experience yet another, with Rosh Hashanah starting Sunday night, and has been...Read more...

Judaism has always sought a balance between worship at home and in a central location- a balance that was disrupted two years ago, and is shifting back again for our community as we enter 5783. This week’s portion, Re’eh, conveys one of the first recalibrations of that balance. Whereas in the desert, any animal that was to be eaten had to be brought as a sacrifice within the camp, when they entered the land, the Israelites...Read more...

“Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Echad”- those six words of the Shema are perhaps the essence of our faith. They were the last prayers upon the lips of generations of martyrs, and are among the very first prayers we recite with our children. For an observant Jew, they form parentheses around the entirety of one’s day, said morning and evening as we fulfill the verse “when you lie down and...Read more...

What happens when one demands something from another that they cannot provide? At different times in our lives, we might be on the giving, or the receiving end of that disappointment. We might be disappointed by another person not playing the role that we expected them to play, despite expressing our expectations, or we might let someone else down by not living up to what they asked from us. Our portion this week, Balak, gives us...Read more...

I’ll always remember the first d’var Torah I ever wrote that stirred controversy. Though there have been many since, this one was in 2002.  It was the early days of Torah on the Internet, and I was the summer substitute for the JTS Chancellor’s Torah commentary.    At the time, many in the Jewish community were opposed to school vouchers, and in particular, those that could be used at religiously oriented...Read more...

Many of us were horrified to hear of the slaughter of 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde Texas. How does our Jewish tradition help us understand this atrocity? What does it call upon us to do? This week we are reading Parashat Behukotai, Leviticus 26 and 27, which includes some of the most horrific curses and punishments, including the threat that the Israelites will eat...Read more...

Since Biblical days, Judaism has had a “busy season”- the month of Tishrei is known to incorporate a major observance each of four weeks in a row: Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot and Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah. In contrast, all of the other months had at most one holiday or observance. Passover, six months later, certainly holds its own as a holiday, but it sits alone in its own month, like  all of the other...Read more...

We continue to watch with horror the destruction unfolding in Ukraine. While the murder or suffering of any human being deserves our attention, we have particular care and concern for the Jewish communities that have been affected. Many have asked what we can do.  Our Torah portion this week, Shemini, provides some insight by reflecting how the Israelites reacted to destruction that they experienced, the death of...Read more...

Many of us are concerned about events in the Ukraine, as we watch footage of Russian troops pouring in and hear responses (or non-responses) from around the world.  Each has our own perspective.  Some are afraid for the wellbeing of those under attack. Others are fearful of global destabilization and an escalation of conflict around the world.   Still others are concerned about the effect on our own country’s world...Read more...

I’m excited for Rabbi Zaslow’s visit to our congregation. Our lay-led Search Committee has done its homework in interviewing and checking references, and we now have the opportunity to meet a candidate whom they recommend very highly. As a community, we will make our decision after meeting her firsthand. There...Read more...