Angel for Shabbat

Rabbi Marc D. Angel offers thoughts for discussion at your Shabbat table. Please visit this column each week, and invite your fa

Good Intentions Are Not Good Enough: Thoughts for Behar/Behukotai

We all may have good intentions; but we also have the uncanny ability to come up with rationalizations why we cannot fulfill these good intentions. We find excuses justifying why we can't attend minyan, or can't contribute more to charity, or can't spend time learning Torah, or can't find more time to spend with our families, or can't invite guests to our homes etc.

Sacred Places: Thoughts for Parashat Shemini

While God cannot be limited to a particular space, yet, human beings can set aside a place and recognize it to be sacred, a point of connection between humans and the Almighty. Human understanding cannot confront the vastness of God without being overcome with overwhelming fear and trembling. But a sacred space, being limited and comprehensible, enables us to feel a sense of personal connection with God.

Benjamin Disraeli and Succoth

Interesting insights about Succoth have come from the pen of Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881), the First Earl of Beaconsfield. Disraeli was of Jewish birth, whose family had been associated with the Spanish and Portuguese Congregation in London. Although his father had Benjamin baptized to Anglicanism at age 12, Disraeli never denied his Jewish roots. He rose to become the first—and thus far only—British Prime Minister of Jewish ancestry.

Redemption and Exile...and Redemption: Thoughts for Tisha B'Av and Parashat Devarim

As we prepare for the observance of Tisha B’Av, let us take time to ponder the mystery and the wonder of Jewish peoplehood. The Exodus was the formative experience that propelled our people into history. The Exile was the experience that underscored our national courage, resilience, compassion and determination. The Torah was—and is—the foundation of our spiritual teachings, our ideas and our ideals.