Rabbi Weill's Blog

Dear Friends,

Stability. Fragility. Hope.

That sums up Tisha b’Av, which begins on Saturday evening.

Tisha b’Av – the ninth day of the month of Av – commemorates Jewish calamities. It is the day, according to our lore, that both Temples fell and the day the edict for our 1492 expulsion from Spain was signed.

Our sages also retroactively assigned that date to the Torah story of the spies’ pessimistic...Read more...

Dear Friends,

The sunrises over the wilderness of Sinai. The Israelites awake and pour their coffee. When they emerge from their tents, they see before them the Tabernacle.

The Tabernacle – or Mishkan – was the portable sanctuary the Israelites transported during their journey to the Promised Land.  It was situated in the center of the Israelite camp. The tribes were arrayed around it. God’s cloud of glory swirled...Read more...

Dear Friends,

We are privileged to benefit from each other's scholarship and wisdom. We have such an opportunity over the next couple of weeks, as congregant Dr. Steve Parker will teach material from his wealth of study and writing.

The first opportunity will be this Saturday evening. Steve will join me and Cantor Gale in leading our annual Tikkun Leil Shavuot. See additional information in this Byte message.

The...Read more...

Dear Friends,

Garrison Keillor would cap off each episode of A Prairie Home Companion by stating that Lake Wobegon is a place “Where … all the children are above average.”

I love the phrase, for how can “all” of anything within a specific set be “above average”? Still, I would apply that ironic line to the children in our own religious school. I have had the distinct pleasure of teaching and just spending time...Read more...

Dear Friends,

On Passover we gather together to celebrate this ancient biblical holiday. To that end, all are welcome to log on to Zoom In and Zoom Out of Egypt on Friday night – first seder – at 7:30 pm.  Cantor Gale and I will lead a maariv service and focus on moments of high drama and great meaning in the Haggadah. It will last approximately 75 minutes.

On Passover we are also keenly attuned to those who suffer...Read more...

Dear Friends,

The core of the Jewish mitzvah system is the imperative to help the vulnerable. There are, sadly and undeniably, no end of vulnerable people in the world. The Ukrainians have caught our attention for their sad plight, as well as for their bravery. We also understand that the security structure that has obtained in the western world is shaken by Russia's invasion. So, Ukraine is very much on our minds. 

We at...Read more...

Dear Friends,

One of humanity’s greatest accomplishments was…

Well, you might conclude that sentence in any number of ways: the pyramids, the moon-landing, the personal computer.

But I’ll vote for the Mishkan, the portable tabernacle the Israelites constructed and transported through the desert, en route to the...Read more...

Dear Friends,

The United Nations' General Assembly designated January 27 as International Holocaust Remembrance Day; it is the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1945. 

On this day, the UN urges its members states to honor the memory of the six million and to commit to the complete abolishment of genocide. May it only be so!

We in the Jewish world have our own sacred day of commemoration, Yom...Read more...

Dear Friends,

This week, as we begin the book of Exodus, Moses feels woefully unqualified for the mission God places upon him: to be God's agent of redemption for the Israelites; to be the great teacher of Torah at Sinai; to lead the people through the wilderness. 

"Mi anochi?" Moses protests. Who am I to accomplish all of this? The Israelites will not believe me. Pharaoh will not speak to me. I have a speech impediment....Read more...

Dear Friends,

Introducing … “Folk & Rock Torah.”  Each week – for the time being – I will play a recording of a song that reflects a theme within that week’s Torah portion. I will do this immediately following our evening minyan – typically on Wednesdays.

This week I shared “Takin’ It to the Streets” by the Doobie Brothers. It begins, “You don’t know me, but I’m your brother. I was raised...Read more...

Dear Friends,

As you know from our emails and fliers, EHNT offers frequent and fulfilling opportunities for learning. Cantor Gale teaches popular classes on Jewish music and liturgy. Dr. Esther Javetz and her Adult Education team organize a steady stream of creative programs. And I teach classes on Mondays (Torah This Week!), Tuesdays (Stories from Our Tradition) and Thursdays....Read more...

Dear Friends,

Abraham woke up on the right side of the bed and began believing in one God. Everyone else on the planet was still waking up on the idolatrous side of the bed. Abraham was the first – and for a time only – monotheist on the planet.

Torah does not explore how radical Abraham was. To stand here while the rest of the world stands there is difficult, a constant struggle. But Abraham was adamant; he believed in...Read more...

Dear Friends,

Climbing a tree. Hanging from a vine. Sailing across the ocean. These are a few of the ways our sages – from ancient to modern times – pursued illicit desires, whether those desires were born from greed, lust, or the hunger for power. In some cases, the hapless sages went through with the deed. But in most cases, they managed to thwart the forward momentum of their desires.

Rav Amram the Pious is the hero of...Read more...

Dear Friends,

The pandemic ebbed and flowed; we despaired and hoped. And through it all, we continued learning. Our Adult Education program, under the leadership of Dr. Esther Javetz, churned out creative learning opportunities, drawing very impressive numbers. Cantor Gale has added his expertise and enthusiasm to the mix, 

A special pleasure for me are my three weekly classes: Torah This Week! (Mondays at 6); Stories...Read more...

Dear Friends,

A plague engulfs the Israelites during a massive act of apostasy at the end of last week’s Torah portion, Balak. More than 20,000 die!

But when Aaron’s grandson Pinchas kills a privileged Israelite man who is preparing to engage in idol-worship and more with a Midianite princess, the plague abruptly ends.

Pinchas’s double homicide ended their lives gruesomely. But it also saved hundreds more from...Read more...