by Rabbi Shaps | Jun 8, 2023 | Rabbi Zischa Shaps, Weekly Parsha
Everyone is an expert. Especially in today’s world with Google available to tell us anything we need to know. I always found it fascinating how parents are experts on teaching even though they never took a course in teaching. In a similar way, we are all medical...
by Lauren Shaps | Jun 1, 2023 | Naso, Weekly Parsha
Early in May the World Health Organization declared an end to the COVID-19 pandemic. Covid-19 “no longer qualifies as a global emergency, marking a symbolic end to the devastating coronavirus pandemic that triggered once-unthinkable lockdowns, upended economies...
by Rabbi Altonaga | May 24, 2023 | Rabbi Michael Altonaga, Shavuos
Shavuos. The most important holiday that nobody has ever heard of. Shavuos has a bit of middle child syndrome going on. It’s between the much longer holidays of Passover and Succos, and it certainly gets less fanfare than Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. There...
by Danielle Altonaga | May 19, 2023 | Danielle Altonaga, Jerusalem
Today is Yom Yerushalayim, Jerusalem Day. It commemorates the reunification of Jerusalem under Jewish sovereignty in 1967. I love Jerusalem. I was blessed to live there for nearly three years. Have you ever wondered why Jerusalem is so important to us? King...
by Rabbi Shaps | May 12, 2023 | Behar Bechukosai
If you have been to Israel lately you know that it is full of hustle and bustle and the landscape is beautiful with trees and many fields full of all types of crops. Yet, it was not always that way. In 1867, Mark Twain took a trip to the Holy Land. He later reported...
by Lauren Shaps | May 5, 2023 | Lauren Shaps, Weekly Parsha
Reading about Israeli politics is never for the faint of heart. These days, the news seems particularly cringe worthy. There are loud voices, extreme views, protests and counterprotests. We worry about the state of affairs in the country we love and feel shame...
by Rabbi Altonaga | Apr 28, 2023 | Acharei Mos Kedoshim, Rabbi Michael Altonaga, Weekly Parsha
“Love your fellow as yourself” this is the fundamental principle of the Torah. Rabbi Akiva This is one of the most famous mitzvos in the Torah and, according to Sages like Rabbi Akiva and Hillel the Elder, the most all encompassing concept that speaks to...
by Danielle Altonaga | Apr 21, 2023 | Danielle Altonaga, Weekly Parsha
Psst…did you hear?! This week’s Torah portion talks about Tzaras, a skin disease. Tzaras is often mistranslated as leprosy. Rabbi Shraga Simmons explains that, in fact, Tzaras is “a physical manifestation of a spiritual deficiency”. Which spiritual deficiency?...
by Rabbi Shaps | Apr 9, 2023 | Rabbi Zischa Shaps, Weekly Parsha
We have all heard the expression Charity begins at home. We may also be familiar with the levels of responsibility in giving charity. It starts with those closest to us, our family and then extends to our community, our city, Jews across the world and the rest of the...
by Danielle Altonaga | Mar 31, 2023 | Danielle Altonaga, Passover
In the weeks leading up to Passover, (and sometimes starting right after Purim) my groups on Facebook and WhatsApp are full of jokes, memes, and tales bemoaning the task of cleaning for the holiday. There are a few reasons for this. Some have to do with feeling...
