Monuments How many of you saw the film “The Monuments Men”? It is a dramatisation of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program established by the United States and Britain during the second World War. Although the film is only so-so and its history is a bit incorrect, the actual project played an heroic role in the “preservation, protection, and restitution of monuments,...

Shana tovah. Josette and I hope you will be have a year of good health, much love and many blessings. Building Faith in Canada I’m still a little tender. Last week, I was building affordable housing in Scarborough with other faith leaders. Buddhists and Bahai, Muslims and Mormons, Protestatnts and Catholics, Jews and First Nations - we were all working hard to construct walls, install...

Emily Dickinson wrote: In this short Life that only lasts an hour How much — how little — is within our power As I watched hurricanes in Texas, the Caribbean, Florida and Bangladesh, forest fires in British Columbia, heat in San Francisco, and earthquakes in Mexico, I was anxious for friends and strangers, for personal safety and about our planetary plight. As I saw...

As we enter Neilah, the service that marks the closing of the gates of this sacred and soul-stirring day, I think of the bugle call of the last post that Josette and I heard this summer at Fort Henry in Kingston. The sense of loss, memory and hope that accompanies this music. On Remembrance Shabbat, when Cantor Ezer gives voice to the plaintive notes, we witness tears in the service....

On the wall of my home is a copy of a drawing by Rembrandt, depicting the scene of the binding of Isaac (Akedat Yitzḥak). The original hangs in the National Gallery in Washington. Rembrandt, who loved to illustrate Biblical characters, had earlier painted a portrayal of the subject which is on exhibit in the Hermitage. In the oil painting, Avraham is about to slaughter his son. Yitzhak...

Schwartz, an elderly man, is resting peacefully on the porch of his small hotel outside Boca when he sees a cloud of dust up the road. He walks out to see who could be approaching: It is a Southern farmer with a wagon. “Good afternoon,” says Schwartz. “Afternoon,” says the farmer. “Where you headed?” asks Schwartz. “Town.” “What do you have in the...

While this week’s parashah is titled Balak, it should really be called Bilaam since the story is more about Bilaam than Balak. Balak was the King of Midian while Bilaam was a prophet, albeit one who was not Jewish. Balak summons Bilaam to curse the Jews because he was seeking supernatural powers to prevent the Jews from getting to the promised land. Bilaam, however, states that he can...

Our recent Torah portion finds the people of Israel near the conclusion of their 40 year journey through the Wildness, from Egyptian slavery to the Land of Promise. “And the children of Israel journeyed and camped in the plains of Moav, across from Jericho of the Jordan.” (21.35). But, we all know that there were still many tasks ahead. Michael Walzer explores some of these issues in...

Many of you read the book or saw the film “Moneyball”  Even if you didn’t, you probably are aware of a development that is occurring in many areas of professional sports. Sabermetrics is the data-driven analysis of baseball statistics that measure in-game activity. Sabermetrics is an attempt to evaluate players, through computer driven analysis and evidence in addition to the gut...

I want to add my thanks to those of Norman Bacal and the lay leadership of our Congregation to recognize our good friend, Mary Ellen Herman, who has dedicated the Banquet Hall of our Congregation in memory of her late husband, Michael Herman. Mary Ellen’s leadership gift is a statement of faith in the future of our Congregation. I am grateful to her and the Herman family for...

Wade in the Water,Wade in the Water, children.Wade in the Water,God’s gonna trouble the water. Wade in the Water,Wade in the Water, children.Wade in the Water,God’s gonna trouble the water. See those children all dressed in white?   (God’s gonna trouble the waters)They must be the children of the Israelites.   (God’s gonna trouble the waters) Wade in...

I have some bad habits. On Thursday, I was in a meeting with Randy and had to check something on my phone. I indicated that I was following the conversation. When I closed the calendar on my phone, I made a suggestion to the group, which apparently had been made by someone else while I was looking at my schedule. I was only partially paying attention. Occasionally, I’m on a cell phone...

The same words can mean different things. Maimonides taught that the phrase “He said” has one meaning when it refers to human speech and another when it applies to divine communication. Ludwig Wittgenstein noted that words have different meanings depending on the context. A strike in baseball is not the same as a strike in soccer. In the Jewish tradition, when a rabbi refers to the...

The story of Chesley Sullenberger became the inspiration for a recently released film Sully, a drama about his decision to land an Airbus on the Hudson River. Its two engines had been stalled by the intake of a flock of Canada geese shortly after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport. Celebrated for saving all 155 people on board, Sullenberger was also investigated to ascertain whether...

Last Pesaẖ, after leading two seder evenings, one of our members was stricken with a rapidly accelerating respiratory disease that has a mortality rate of over 50 percent. Ted was intubated, isolated and placed in a paralytic coma. He remained that way for weeks. His physicians, friends and family agonized, uncertain whether he would live or die. Throughout this terribly fearful time,...