Posts

Jewish Wisdom for the Next Time You’re Delayed in Secaucus

This week brought major news about the Gateway Project, the massive undertaking to modernize and expand the rail infrastructure between New Jersey and Manhattan. For those of us who live in this part of the world, this is hardly an abstract policy discussion. It is deeply personal. It is about children and grandchildren commuting to work, family members sitting on delayed NJ Transit trains, and the familiar frustration of hearing about signal problems, tunnel congestion, or yet another inexplicable delay somewhere between Secaucus and Penn Station. When completed, the Gateway Project promises something genuinely transformative: increased rail capacity, far greater reliability, and modernization of one of the most fragile transportation chokepoints in the United States. And yet there is one sobering reality: the full project will take another 20 years to complete. Some reading this Shabbat message may never see its final completion. That naturally raises a question. Why undertake ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Emperor Has No Clothes, And Neither Do Many of Our Famous Stars

There is a famous story about an emperor who was convinced he was wearing magnificent clothes, when in fact, he was wearing nothing at all. Everyone around him saw the truth, but no one dared to say it. Why? Because they didn’t want to look foolish. They didn’t want to stand apart. They didn’t want to challenge what everyone else was pretending to believe. Until a child spoke up. The emperor isn’t just in the parade anymore. He’s on the red carpet. Looking at some of today’s most high-profile public events and awards shows, whether the recent Met Gala, the Cannes Film Festival, the Grammy Awards or Academy Awards, it’s hard not to feel like we are watching a modern version of that story unfold. Many of the outfits worn by celebrities (and let's tell the truth—we are talking about women’s clothing, or actually, lack thereof) are designed to shock, to reveal, to push boundaries, often leaving very little to the imagination. At a certain point, this isn’t fashion. It’s…something...
Post a Comment
Read more

From Washington, DC: A Week of Insight, Perspective, and Hope

This week, I traveled to Washington DC for the 5th Annual Zionist Rabbinic Coalition (ZRC) conference. Of all the various rabbinical organizations with which I am involved, this one has become the most significant and important one to me. The ZRC was formed in 2021 at the urging of then Ambassador of Israel to the United States Ron Dermer, who expressed concern about a growing drift away from traditional Rabbinical support to Israel. Sadly, this is something that I also had witnessed over the past several decades. Today, the ZRC is a network of over 2000 Rabbis representing Conservative, Orthodox, Reform, as well as non-denominational Rabbis from across the United States. We are the independent, multi-denominational, and non-partisan collective voice of Zionist Rabbis. Another important feature of our work is actively combating antisemitism, especially when it masquerades and manifests in the form of anti-Zionism. Through our growing Rabbinic network, advocacy on Capitol Hill, partners...
Post a Comment
Read more

From Mourning to Celebration: Israel’s Spring "High Holidays" - Rabbi Hillel Gold

In the aftermath of Pesach, this time on the Jewish calendar is particular meaningful.    Five days after Pesach ended, we observed Yom Hashoah , Holocaust Remembrance Day.    This week we have had the back to back observances of Yom Hazikaron , Memorial Day for the fallen soldiers and victims of terror to be immediately followed by the celebration of Yom Ha’atzmaut , Israel Independence Day. There is something especially meaningful about being able to mark these three momentous days in Israel.    Solemnity and celebration, which marks this period of time, has begun to be referred to here as the spring “High Holiday” period.    I write these words shortly after returning home from the ceremony marking the start of Yom Hazikaron , Memorial Day.    It is a day filled with solemnity and sadness.    Despite living here full time for only a little over three years, and despite that the names of the fallen were limited to those fro...
Post a Comment
Read more

Think It. Don’t Say It.

We are living through a moment that feels unusually heavy. There is deep division here in America. There is war. And there is often painful tension within our own Jewish communities. Conversations that used to feel simple now feel charged. Relationships are strained. People are worried. And it’s not just a feeling. Recent surveys reflect this unease. Studies from the Pew Research Center show that a strong majority of Americans believe the country is more divided today than in the past. Polling from Gallup shows declining optimism about the future and historically low trust in institutions. People are not only concerned about what’s happening. They are unsure where it’s all heading. It is, in many ways, a difficult time to feel hopeful. And then, I came across something completely different. A humorous collection of church signs popped up in my news feed. And I have been laughing, and thinking about them for a few days. You have seen those marquee and billboard signs outside chu...
1 comment
Read more

Why Israel Is Still One of the Happiest Places on Earth

Several years ago, I spoke to the congregation about the United Nations’ World Happiness Report . At the time, many of us found the results surprising. Israel ranked near the very top of the list, despite years of war, political turmoil, and deep internal divisions.   I remember asking then: how could this be? The answer, as Israeli researchers at the time explained, is that the report did not really measure “happiness” in the way we usually think of it. It measured something deeper — what they called “life satisfaction.” We can define this as a sense that one’s life has meaning, purpose, and connection. That insight stayed with me. This Shabbat, I want to revisit this idea under very different circumstances. Since that original sermon, Israel has endured several more years of war, national trauma, and upheaval. October 7th and everything that followed changed Israel in profound and painful ways. If there were ever a moment when we might expect Israel to fall in such a rankin...
Post a Comment
Read more

If We Don’t Tell the Story

There is a simple but striking idea at the heart of the Seder.   Our Haggadot , following the rulings of the Mishnah and other great Rabbis, teach us that if a person does not mention Pesach , Matzah , and Maror during the Seder, they have not fulfilled their obligation. Think about that for a moment. You could sit at the table, recite the four questions, read most of the Haggadah , discuss Yitzi’at Mitzrayim , the coming out of the land of Egypt, sing the songs, and yet, if you failed to articulate those core elements, Jewish law and tradition says you did not tell the story. Which forces us to ask a fundamental question: What kind of “story” is this, that if you leave out key elements, it’s not just incomplete, but   invalid as well? The answer is: the Seder is not about telling a story. It is about telling the story. A story that is structured, intentional, and disciplined.   A story that insists you address core ideas: you must name the suffering you must d...
Post a Comment
Read more