by Rabbi Altonaga | Mar 3, 2023 | Purim, Rabbi Michael Altonaga
Ah Purim. There is nothing quite like seeing the most respectable members of your community dressed up like ninjas and pirates. But why? I understand having a fun thing for kids to do to get them excited for the holiday, but why are Torah scholars, who work so hard to...
by Rabbi Altonaga | Feb 9, 2023 | Rabbi Michael Altonaga, Weekly Parsha
What is the single most important event in Jewish history? The event that changed the character of everything we carried out from that day forward? The event that gave birth to the most published book in human history? The Revelation at Sinai. It was the only time...
by Rabbi Altonaga | Jan 13, 2023 | Rabbi Michael Altonaga, Weekly Parsha
In the Torah portion this week, there is a line that chills me to the bone. It is an ominous literary moment that turns everything on its head and sets the stage for the horrors that are to come. The reading starts with some innocuous genealogical details and then out...
by Rabbi Altonaga | Dec 16, 2022 | Rabbi Michael Altonaga, Weekly Parsha
Are you struggling? Life is hard and it seems like there is always something getting between us and our goals. Always these inconvenient or even painful difficulties hounding us at every turn. Few can see that as clearly as Joseph could in this weeks Torah portion. As...
by Rabbi Altonaga | Nov 18, 2022 | Rabbi Michael Altonaga, Weekly Parsha
What did you do today? Did you use your time to the fullest? This week’s Torah portion, Chayei Sarah (the life of Sarah), begins with the mention of Sarah’s death. And the life of Sarah was one hundred years and twenty years and seven years; [these were]...
by Rabbi Altonaga | Oct 21, 2022 | Rabbi Michael Altonaga, Weekly Parsha
Every day of creation, Hashem says “it was good,” except for one… On the second day, there is no mention of it being good. Why not? Rabbi Hanina said: Because on that day discord entered the world, as it says “And God said, Let there be a firmament...
