Announcement: Cantor Alyssa Rosenbaum
Announcement: Cantor Alyssa Rosenbaum will be installed as the new incoming cantor for Bnai Jeshurun Congregation during the weekend of June 9 – 10.
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks: From Despair to Hope – Beha’alotecha
Rabbi Sacks writes about the challenges of leadership, such as those experienced by Moses in this week’s parashah, Beha’alotecha. Spiritual leadership is especially challenging. Moses called on God to kill him because he could not manage the weight of leadership.
Rabbi Daniel Bouskila: Humans of Israel – My Uncle Isaac
Rabbi Bouskila remembers the brilliance and encyclopedic knowledge of his uncle Isaac, z/l.
Cantor Phil Baron: Avinu Shebashamayim
“Avinu Shebashamayim” by Cantor Phil Baron
Shavuot Song – “Stay Up All Night”
Three guys do the “Torah tango” and try to stay up all night on Shavuot. (From the Rebbetzin Tap “Jewish Holiday Celebration” DVD
Rabbi Rachel Barenblat, The Velveteen Rabbi: In the Cloud
Rabbi Barenblat’s Drash on Beha’alotecha is a few years old, but is surprisingly poignant and relevant. Rabbi Barenblat writes about the repetitive motif—the cloud, the journey, the waiting.
Cantor Azi Schwartz: Torah Procession
Cantor Azi Schwartz: Torah Procession
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, z/l : Naso – The Blessing of Love
The parashah contains one of the most beautiful passages in the Torah; the Priestly Blessing. Rabbi Sacks,z/l, writes that we are all God’s children; God is everyone’s parent. God turns His face to us; He cares. Faith means that we believe in God’s love for us.
Rabbi Adam Ruditsky: Reflection of Shavuot
Rabbi Ruditsky describes the beauty of the Biblical chag of Shavuot as a time and place for connecting the earth, Israel, and God together. The later implementation by the rabbis brings out the holiness of receiving the Torah.
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, z/l: Bamidbar – The Sound of Silence
Bamidbar is read on the Shabbat before Shavuot; the two events are connected by the giving of Torah. Rabbi Sacks, z/l: writes that the Torah was given in desert so that it would not be “owned” by a specific place. In addition, it would be shared in a place of silence; to hear God we must have silence in our soul.