Rabbi Weill's Blog

Dear Friends,

Today has been a good day; it’s Purim. I’ve had fun singing and chatting with the toddlers in Schechter’s Early Childhood Center, housed downstairs in our education wing; dancing, singing and drumming in the midst of a very well-attended service last night, featuring young and not-so-young in costumes; and hearing the entire megillah this morning. Purim actually felt like it began much earlier this year, as our...Read more...

Dear Friends,

Our nation has witnessed recently a cluster of hate-fueled incidents, both against Jewish institutions and against Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU’s). Meanwhile, neo-Nazis gathered publicly this past week in Boston and in Orlando.

While we ought to be vigilant, we should also maintain perspective. These incidents are...Read more...

Dear Friends,

The heart of the Jewish community tanked and filled with dread as we learned last Shabbat that a gunman was holding four Jews hostage at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, TX. Memories of the mass shooting at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh flashed before us, in addition to the tragic violence at other houses of worship (and schools, street corners, nightclubs,...Read more...

Dear Friends,

Mark Spitz, the Jewish American Olympic swimmer, has been on my mind. In fact, I woke up this morning singing a made-up song about him.

Spitz won seven gold medals in the 1972 Olympics, held in Munich. His achievement was unparalleled -- until Michael Phelps came along.

Spitz’s ascent up the podium to receive his seventh gold medal occurred on the evening of September 4, 1972. Hours later, as he was...Read more...

Dear Friends,

Chanukah’s history is more complicated than the story we teach our children. For instance, the glorious war of the Maccabees was as much a struggle against assimilated Jews as it was against the Seleucid Greek armies. Furthermore, the Maccabees themselves may have been good fighters, but they were deplorable rulers; one of them had hundreds of his Jewish opponents slaughtered. And the final defeat of the Hasmoneans (as...Read more...

Dear Friends,

Kristallnacht – the two-day pogrom – occurred on November 9 and 10, 1938, in communities throughout Germany and Austria.

For us, this is no mere history. Congregations Ezra and Habonim were founded by German Jewish refugees in 1938, on the north and south sides respectively. Those congregations merged to form Ezra-Habonim in 1973. The merger between Niles Township Jewish Congregation and Ezra-Habonim require...Read more...

Dear Friends,

The shocking ascension of the Taliban 20 years after 9/11 causes deep consternation. So many Afghanis and others have and will continue to suffer from the Taliban’s violent brand of Islamist extremism. In addition to our consternation, we may also feel a sense of dismaying futility, as in: After all that, they’re back?

The Taliban’s re-emergence feels like the realization of Ecclesiastes’ pessimistic...Read more...

Dear Friends,

Moses – aware of his impending death – plans for the future. In this week’s Torah portion, Shoftim, he stands on Mt Nebo, at the precipice of the Promised Land, and counsels the Israelites about the parameters of leadership for priests, prophets, and kings. This process began in the book of Numbers when a new generation of leaders – Joshua, Pinchas, the daughters of Zelophechad, et al – asserted...Read more...

Dear Friends,

A new generation ariseth in this week’s Torah portion, Pinchas. God establishes that the high priesthood will come from the line of Pinchas, Aaron’s grandson. Meanwhile, the daughters of Zelophechad successfully appeal directly to Moses for the right to inherit, even though they are female. Finally, Moses publicly ordains Joshua as his successor.

Pinchas is a Torah portion of succession.

Every...Read more...

Dear Friends,

Moses falls on his face, once again, in this week’s Torah portion, Korach. Aaron does as well. Why? Because these leaders’ are experiencing – once again – a serious challenge to their leadership. But it’s not really their leadership that’s being challenged; it’s God’s leadership, for Moses and Aaron are indeed Gods appointed leaders of the people.

Incredibly, Moses raises himself up, collects...Read more...

Dear Friends,

Eighteen of us – Jewish, Muslim, Catholic, Protestant -- stood in a wide circle yesterday for the Niles Township Clergy Forum’s silent vigil for, as our battered sign reads, “Peace. Love. Kindness.”  It was a powerful experience.

Meanwhile, local Jewish leaders are contemplating how to demonstrate solidarity with Israel during this fraught time.

“Fraught” is too weak a word. What is...Read more...

Dear Friends,

Isaac Bashevis Singer’s childhood memoir, A Day of Pleasure, is a pleasure to read! The title implies Shabbat, but the passage below takes place as Passover nears. This chapter begins with an unexpected gift: A local tailor, as a favor to Singer’s father, a poor rabbi, fits the adolescent Signer for a suit the family could not otherwise afford.

"Everything went...Read more...

Dear Friends,

Today we woke to the horrible news of a shooting in Georgia by a disturbed young man with a legally-owned gun. The victims were primarily Asian, leading many to assume this was a hate crime – a plausible conclusion given the sharp rise of anti-Asian crime in the United States.

What makes this tragic crime even more infuriating is that most of the victims were targeted because they were women.

Meanwhile,...Read more...

Dear Friends,

This Shabbat is Shabbat Zachor, when recall how the Amalekites attacked the weary and infirm Israelites upon their escape from Egypt. Commentators note that the Amalekites had no logical reason to attack us. It is not as if we were disputing land rights. They were not among the tribes in the land of Canaan, which God swore to the Israelites.

So why did the Amalekites attack?

Our midrash notes that...Read more...

Dear Friends,

The full moon is reliable. We know when it will arrive, and on clear nights it shines from 240,000 miles away. Last night’s full moon cast shadows on the snow as Lucky and I walked around the block.

The holiday of Tu bi’Shevat also arrives reliably on the full moon of the month of Shevat. (Tu bi’Shevat means the fifteenth of Shevat.) It is the “new year for trees,” related to when the ancient...Read more...