If we want to vent our anger at the nations of the world, we certainly have had more than enough provocation. But the festivals of Succoth and Shemini Hag Atsereth remind us that the Jewish people have a different approach.  We do not wish evil on our enemies; we only wish them to repent, to see the light of reason and justice.  We do not pray for their destruction: we pray for their well-being!

God could have created Adam from precious metals, from stardust, or from pure spirit but chose rather to use dust of the ground. From dust we learn humility...but also self-respect.

As the holiday season begins to draw to a close, we have a full roster of Adult Education classes with Rabbi Hayyim Angel available!

Tanakh needed prophecy so that we could transcend ourselves and our limited perspectives to aspire to a more perfected self and world, and to reach out across the infinite gulf to God. Ultimately, however, it also needed Ecclesiastes to teach how to have faith from the human perspective, so that we may grow in our fear of Heaven and observe God’s commandments in truth.

Janet Kirchheimer offers poignant thoughts on the passing of her beloved mother, on the nature of grief, on the resilience needed to move forward with life.

While so much of the news focuses on dissension among groups, it is important to be aware of significant efforts to bring people together in friendship and mutual understanding. Rabbi Dr. Alon Goshen-Gottstein is director of the Elijah Interfaith Institute.