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Together, We Will Strengthen Israel, Our Values, and Our People
03/27/2025 10:58:58 AM
Rabbi Micah Peltz
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In a world with so much uncertainty, it is important to have things that root us. Family, friends, community, traditions – all of these things can help serve that purpose. Something else that helps us to root us is our calendar, which in Judaism sets the rhythm of the year and reminds us of our story and values. This Shabbat is Shabbat HaHodesh. We will take a second Torah from the ark and read Exodus 12, which...Read more...
The Power of Kehillah, Community
03/20/2025 01:16:48 PM
Rabbi Bryan Wexler
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This Shabbat we read Parashat Vayakhel, which gives detailed instructions for the building of the mishkan (tabernacle). But before turning to those instructions this Shabbat, let’s first consider the parasha’ first word: Vayakhel. The root of the word Vayakhel is kahal, which means community. Vayakhel begins with Moses gathering the whole community together. Numerous commentators point to the importance of Moses...Read more...
Standing up to power like Vashti and Esther
03/13/2025 09:37:36 AM
Rabbi Micah Peltz
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Tonight begins our celebration of Purim. I hope that you will join us at 7pm for our first installment of Purim Madness, which will include Megillah reading, song parodies, costume contests with fabulous prizes, and food and fun. And then on Sunday morning, we will continue our celebration with our Family Megillah reading followed by our Purim Extravaganza! See below for details. On Purim we celebrate Mordehai and...Read more...
Bringing Light in an All-Too-Dark World
03/06/2025 12:21:12 PM
Rabbi Bryan Wexler
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This week’s Torah portion, Tetzaveh focuses on the role of the Kohanim (priests) and the detailed, sacred clothing that they wore. Judging a person by the clothing that they wear is superficial, and leadership is certainly not about garb or glitz. However, as our parashah teaches us, there is much to be learned from a uniform, most of all, what it represents.
The High Priest wore the Hoshen HaMishpat, the breastplate of...Read more...
Together, may we create more joy in the world
02/27/2025 12:17:26 PM
Rabbi Micah Peltz
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Tonight begins the Hebrew month of Adar, about which the Talmud says Mi Shenikhas Adar Marbin B’Simha, when the month of Adar begins, our joy increases. Our tradition attributes this to the Purim holiday, which we will celebrate in a couple of weeks. We know joy and happiness are not emotions we can automatically feel simply because we turn a page on a calendar. Especially in a time when our hearts are heavy from another...Read more...
May our tears water our broken hearts
02/20/2025 12:54:48 PM
Rabbi Bryan Wexler
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This moment feels different.
For months and months, we have hung our prayers on the fate of little Kfir and Ariel Bibas, longing for their safe return, refusing to give up hope. This morning, we saw coffins brought back into Israel...Read more...
Returning to what roots us, working towards growth, and sharing our fruit, unique talents, and perspectives with others
02/13/2025 11:00:32 AM
Rabbi Micah Peltz
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Today is Tu B'shevat, the new year for the trees. We celebrate it by eating fruits, especially the seven species of Israel, as well as taking time to reflect on and recommit ourselves to environmental concerns. Some also mark this holiday with a Tu...Read more...
Moments and Memories That We Will and Must Carry With Us
02/06/2025 02:01:58 PM
Rabbi Bryan Wexler
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Super Bowl 59 is THREE days away, and in case you are wondering…. THE EAGLES ARE PLAYING!
Who is excited for Sunday? I certainly am! As I mentioned in shul this past Shabbat since the Eagles won the NFC Championship game nearly two weeks ago, I have been looking for signs in the book of...Read more...
Dreaming About the Future and the Steps to Get Us There
02/06/2025 10:55:28 AM
Rabbi Micah Peltz
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I just returned from a week in Israel, where I got a deeper appreciation for the emotional roller coaster that the whole society is on. One moment, there is the joy of seeing hostages released, and then the sense of sorrow and pain from the release of murders, the loss of soldiers, and the general heaviness of the toll all of this has taken on Israelis. I felt this most acutely last Shabbat, where the shul I was at interrupted services to...Read more...
A Note from Jerusalem: Standing Up for What is Right in a Time Where Things Often Seem Wrong
01/30/2025 11:58:55 AM
Rabbi Micah Peltz
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The sun is setting in Jerusalem. I am grateful for the continued support from TBS that allows me to be here as part of the Rabbinic Leadership Initiative of the Hartman Institute. Our days are mostly spent on the campus in Jerusalem, in conversation with Hartman scholars and the other rabbis in my cohort. It is wonderful to be here, even in these complex days. Today, once again, joy mixed with outrage as eight more...Read more...
Finding a Sense of Hope
01/23/2025 03:51:48 PM
Rabbi Bryan Wexler
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At the beginning of this week’s Torah portion,Vaera, Moses announces to the Israelites that God has appeared to him and that they will be redeemed by the mighty hand of God and be brought to the land promised to their ancestors. Yet, after Moses’ impassioned speech, the Torah says “v’lo shamu el Moshe mikotzer ruah u’mei avodah kasha-- “They could not hear/listen to Moses on account of kotzer ruah and difficult...Read more...
A Vision for a More Peaceful Middle East.
01/16/2025 10:30:18 AM
Rabbi Micah Peltz
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As I write, the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas appears that it will soon become official. If it does, and all goes well, then the first three of the 33 hostages to be released in the first stage could be returning home by Sunday. While we are immensely grateful for these children, women, elderly, and ill human beings to be returning home after 467 days in captivity, we also must recognize that this ordeal is far from...Read more...
Be Strong, Be Strong, and May We Strengthen One Another
01/09/2025 03:40:11 PM
Rabbi Bryan Wexler
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Today, our hearts are not only in the East with our brothers and sisters in Israel, but they are also in the West as a number of devastating wildfires continue to ravage California. We thank God for the brave work of first responders and firefighters, and we are grateful for the safety of the evacuees. Yet, we know that the loss of homes and communities has been immense, including the burning down of the Conservative synagogue, the...Read more...
One Step Forward
01/02/2025 10:26:36 AM
Rabbi Micah Peltz
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I hope your new year is off to a great start! 2025 began this year sandwiched between two Torah portions whose names speak to the opportunities and challenges that a new year presents. Last Shabbat we read the Torah portion of Miketz, which means “At the end,” and this Shabbat we will read parashat Vayigash, which means “And he approached.” These portions mark pivotal moments in the Joseph story. Last week,...Read more...
Tomorrow Reimagined
12/24/2024 11:30:31 AM
Rabbi Bryan Wexler
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Jewish tradition relates that when the Maccabees entered the damaged and desecrated Temple in Jerusalem around 165 BCE, they looked to see if any oil remained sealed by the high priest with which they could light the Temple Menorah. They found one cruse of oil that was enough for one day. But, miraculously, the small amount of oil burned for eight days, which was long enough for the priest to prepare more and keep the light...Read more...
We are the Lamplighters on the Streets of the World
12/19/2024 02:00:10 PM
Rabbi Bryan Wexler
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There is a Hasidic story, told of a conversation between the rabbi and one particular member of his community. The man once asked: “Rabbi, what is a Jew’s task in this world?” The rabbi answered: “A Jew is a lamplighter on the streets of the world. In the olden days, a person in every town would light the gas street lamps with a light he carried on the end of a long pole. On the street corners, the lamps sat, ready to be lit. A...Read more...
Israel: Name and Destiny
12/12/2024 12:13:47 PM
Rabbi Steven Lindemann
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I am writing this from Israel, where I am attending a Rabbinical Assembly conference. Coincidentally, the name “Israel” appears for the first time in this week’s Torah portion. You will surely remember the story.
Jacob is returning to Canaan 20 years after fleeing from his brother Esau. Afraid that the encounter may be violent, he divides his family and flocks into three groups so that at least some might escape if the others are...Read more...
Being the Light, Being the Blessings
12/05/2024 11:40:57 AM
Rabbi Micah Peltz
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This week we learned the tragic news that Omer Neutra, another American-Israeli who was thought to held hostage by Hamas, was actually killed on October 7. For 423 days, his parents, Ronen and Orna, believed he was alive, and advocated tirelessly for his release. As is often the case, TBS has a close connection to the Neutra family. Rabbi Joel Levenson, who was our Associate Rabbi, is the Neutra’s rabbi on Long Island and has...Read more...
Blessed with Everything
11/21/2024 08:30:50 AM
Rabbi Micah Peltz
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What does it mean to have everything? Is it about possessions? Status? Power? Today it can feel like everyone wants everything. There is little will to compromise in our politics, ideologies, and beliefs, along with a troubling unwillingness to look beyond parochial interests to work for the common good. In this environment, perfect becomes the enemy of the good. We become gridlocked and pulled apart....Read more...
The Art of Respectfulness
11/14/2024 01:12:02 PM
Rabbi Bryan Wexler
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This week’s Torah portion, Vayera, opens with the well-known story of God appearing to Abraham as he sits at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. The story gets complicated right away, as it appears that Abraham quickly leaves God to tend to three visitors who also appear at the entrance of his tent. He washes their feet and provides them food, water, and shelter, all while seemingly snubbing his most prominent guest,...Read more...
Moving Forward as Individuals and as a Nation
11/07/2024 09:47:09 AM
Rabbi Micah Peltz
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As we continue to process the results of the election, I want to acknowledge the emotions that we are all feeling after months of divisive campaigning and these nerve-racking last few days. We knew that the election results would disappoint some and satisfy others. As Rabbi David Wolpe remarked after the election, “Resilience is the quality required when the world does not go as you wish, and graciousness the quality required...Read more...
This Election and The Tower of Babel
10/31/2024 11:16:34 AM
Rabbi Micah Peltz
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As we approach the election next week, I am drawn to the story of the Tower of Babel, which we will read this Shabbat. It is a familiar story. Working together and speaking the same language, all people on Earth are united in building a tower and a city. God...Read more...
A Season is Set for Everything
10/23/2024 01:12:27 PM
Rabbi Bryan Wexler
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Moadim L’simha! I hope you have enjoyed time with loved ones in the sukkah over the past week. How incredible has the weather been?! As we conclude Sukkot, we will arrive at the end of our holiday season, which concludes with Shemini Atzeret (which begins tonight) and Simhat Torah (tomorrow night). This is traditionally a time of great joy and celebration, marking the completion of the annual Torah reading cycle and the immediate...Read more...
Uncovering Your Inner Star
09/26/2024 10:49:20 AM
Rabbi Bryan Wexler
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Rosh Hashanah is only a few days away (ready or not, here it comes!). As we approach the new year of 5785, I have been thinking a lot about the shofar. The sound of the shofar comes from the inner breath. In a way, it is a reversal of the breath God breathed into Adam – “And He breathed into...Read more...
The Blessings That Will Make it a Good New Year
09/18/2024 02:43:44 PM
Rabbi Micah Peltz
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The full moon is out, which means we are halfway through the month of Elul. As we approach the end of the year, I keep thinking about a phrase from the Talmud. In a discussion about the reading of the curses, known as the tokheha, in this week’s parashah, Ki Tavo, the Talmud says that the Torah reading schedule was set so that this portion is always read before Rosh Hashanah. The reason: k’day she’tikhleh shanah...Read more...
What have we lost, and what are we searching for?
09/12/2024 10:54:47 AM
Rabbi Bryan Wexler
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In this week’s Torah portion, Ki Teitzei, specifically in the first verses of Deuteronomy 22, we read about the mitzvah of hashavat aveidah -- returning something that has vanished from its owner. The Sefer HaHinukh, an anonymous work written in 13th century Spain, explains that the mitzvah of hashavat aveidah is particularly noteworthy because we all lose things sometimes. It is a sign of being human, after all. However, I would like...Read more...
What can we do?
09/05/2024 09:49:58 AM
Rabbi Micah Peltz
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It has been difficult to find the words this week. The news that reached us after Shabbat, that the remains of six hostages had been found, and the subsequent identification of them as Carmel Gat z"l, Ori Danino z"l, Eden Yerushalmi z"l, Alex Lobanov z"l, Almog Sarusi z"l, and Hersh Goldberg-Polin z’’l was heartbreaking. Learning that they were executed by Hamas 2-3 days prior to being found made it even more devasting....Read more...
Seeing Ourselves - A Time for Introspection
08/29/2024 12:05:06 PM
Rabbi Bryan Wexler
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This week’s Torah portion, Re’eh, begins with the injunction:
Re’eh, anohi notein leefnahem hayom, beracha u’kla-la See (re’eh), I set before you this day blessing and curse.
(Deuteronomy 11:26)
Why does the Torah use the word re’eh here? It could have easily been omitted. I set before you blessing and curse. Why, instead, does it say: “re’eh--see, I set before you blessing and...Read more...
The Road Map to Goodness and Fulfillment
08/22/2024 02:08:36 PM
Rabbi Micah Peltz
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What does God want from me? This is a question that I often find myself asking when confronted with difficult situations. When there is no clear "right" answer, how do we still act like a mensch? In our Torah reading this week, Ekev asks the same question: "And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you?" Thankfully, it also gives us an answer: "Only this: revere the Lord your God, to walk...Read more...
Committing Ourselves to Growing Stronger from our Struggles
08/15/2024 12:29:35 PM
Rabbi Bryan Wexler
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This upcoming Shabbat is known as Shabbat Nahamu, the Shabbat of Comfort. It gets its name from the first verse of this week’s Haftarah (from the prophet Isaiah), which says: “nahamu, nahamu ami—comfort, comfort my people, says your God.” These are powerful words on the heels of our observance of Tisha B’Av (the ninth of Av) and feels especially important to hear this year, given the uncertainty in Israel and the worry...Read more...

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