Ideas rooted
in community

We are introduced in Parashat Eikev to the seven species of grains and fruit for which the Land of Israel is praised.

Unlike the previous four books of the Torah, Sefer Devarim (the Book of Deuteronomy) reads like an entirely different text.

This week's portion teaches us that if everything is the priority, nothing is.

In Parshat Chukat, the Israelites are tired. The road is long, the detour around Edom feels endless, and the people’s spirit grows short. They speak against God and against Moses: “Why did you bring us up from Egypt to die in the wilderness?”

“You don’t get to pick your Jews.” This is an expression we have used regularly as community builders over the years.

Korach, a relative of Moshe, leads what we could describe pretty accurately as the first populist rebellion — or populist uprising — in the Torah.

You can feel summer arriving in Harlem: longer light, looser schedules, kiddos (ours, at least) drifting toward camp mode, calendars beginning to scatter.

In this week's Torah portion, Shelach, we learn about twelve spies sent by Moses into Canaan to scout out the land before the people inhabit it.

Here's a quick thought about the power of community (and a peek into the day-to-day of a rabbi).

In Parshat Behaalotecha, the Torah describes the cloud of God’s presence hovering over the Mishkan in the desert.