Court: A place and a system any healthy society needs, but no one really wants to visit. Just like a judge: Someone you want as a friend, but not someone you want to meet at work all too often. A date in court is not something most people look forward to, and the feelings such a visit generates range from frustration and trepidation, all the way to outright fear and terror. more

Strolling through Jerusalem’s historic Yemin Moshe quarter on a pleasant August morning, my ears caught a ringing, melodic sound emanating from within the walls of the Old City, perhaps half a mile from where I stood. This being a Sunday, the sound I heard was the chiming of church bells, welcoming Christian worshippers to morning services. more

Last week, my son Jeremy got engaged. To say I was thrilled is an understatement. I could not have picked a more perfect girl for him. Darya is charming, delightful, intelligent, fun loving, beautiful, caring and sweet. more

The instructions given to the generation entering the land of Canaan are clear: “Do away with all the places where the nations whom you are driving out worship their gods, [whether they are,] on the high mountains, on the hills, or under any luxuriant tree. You must tear down their altars, break up their sacred pillars, burn their Asherah trees, and chop down the statues of their gods, obliterating their names from that place.” more

This coming Shabbat heralds the upcoming High Holiday season with the ritual of the blessing of the dates for Rosh Chodesh Elul, to be observed on Tuesday and Wednesday, August 26 and 27. The following reading suggestions are made to help enhance the spiritual aspects of the new month. more

I like to think I’m street-smart. Jerry, my husband, is gullible and naive. Whenever asked anything, Jerry never says no, unless it has something to do with me asking him to dress a certain way, then all bets are off. But when it comes to lending a shoulder to lean on, an ear to listen or providing help, Jerry is a softie. more

I can still see the terrified look on his face as we both realized, in the same moment, that we had been set up. more

Strolling through Jerusalem’s historic Yemin Moshe quarter on a pleasant August morning, my ears caught a ringing, melodic sound emanating from within the walls of the Old City, perhaps half a mile from where I stood. more

The promises the Torah gives to the Jewish people for following the ways of G-d are idyllic: If the Nation would merely observes Torah’s commandments without sin, nothing bad would ever happen to it. more

Discerning between innocent and perpetrator requires the ability to hear the larger story. more