The Omer helps navigate the unknown terrain between Pesach and Shavuot, which is why it may be both an exciting and daunting time. We are meant to ascend, both temporally and inwardly, the space between being in Egypt and arriving at Mount Sinai.

Many of you know that the allusion of the title, Chariots of Fire, relate to Eliyahu HaNavi, Elijah the prophet, ascending to heaven in a chariot of fire, as he was leaving this world. So why the connection to this film?

Two startlingly different and divergent award winning Westerns, which are surprisingly similar in their motifs, come to my mind. Almost mirror opposites, these two films contain an analogous theme: A lone, rather uptight, cowboy, who is attracted to another man’s wife, and a boy who grows more and more attached to the cowboy.

As we complete the book of Exodus with the construction of the Holy Sanctuary, I can’t help thinking of the following quote from 2021’s Academy Award’s winning film, "Nomadland." “I may be houseless, but not homeless” was one of the opening phrases by the laconic but sensitive, Fern.

My first encounter with Chabad came about in 1960 when I was seventeen, and a friend invited me to a farbrengen where the Rebbe spoke. From that moment, I was totally smitten with the movement. It was a very cold winter day, and I remember feeling that although my body …

Many films of magical realism appear this time of year, across many cultures. One perennial favorite is Frank Capra’s ‘It’s a Wonderful Life,’ which first appeared when I was only three years old. I was determined to figure out why it became so popular and what could be a Torah connection.

We learn in Pirkei Avot, ‘Be like the students of Aaron: Love peace, and pursue peace’ There is so much good advice in this pithy saying.

The summer of 2001 my world changed. It was the year I moved to Boulder, Colorado. A few weeks later, 9/11 changed the world. That twenty-year memory became more vivid this September by watching a sterling performance by Michael Keaton as the lawyer Kenneth Feinberg who was in charge of allocating funds to the families of the victims.

Have you ever connected a baffling interest in a recent TV series to a prophetic Biblical verse? I have.

This Friday is Lag B’omer, a day of celebration for several reasons. So how does a good heart fit in to this picture?

And no, I am not complaining about this one. On the contrary, I hold him in the highest esteem. His name is Abdul, and he works at the 30th street King Soopers grocery.

What would you say is the highlight of the Passover Seder? The food, the Hagadah, the Seder plate? Let me share mine: I feel it is the moment the middle matzah is broken in two.

‘You can’t choose the card you’re dealt, but you can choose to live every minute of it.’

Living in Boulder in these times, I have found two areas of interest besides covid, that stood out this November- One is the second year of Clean Speech Colorado, a program dedicated to teaching proper ways of talking. The second feature of this month is many of my friends’ fascination with the Netflix series, the Queen’s Gambit.

What makes the Jewish holiday of Sukkot memorable for me is something I have loved to do ever since I first got my own set of the Four Kinds, the lulav and etrog set.

I was the ninth winner in the Hassidic creative contest with this poem, among hundreds of submissions.

How can the saddest days of the year make someone happy?

This week’s parsha bears a striking echo to our current situation. It is the law of someone who got Tzaraat, a disease with physical symptoms of spiritual flaws that affected the person’s body, clothes, or even homes.

This year’s Passover seders will be smaller than ever, but they may prepare us for the biggest event in history.

We just finished reading the book of Exodus, and also the last of the special Torah readings before Passover. This reading, ‘the chapter of the NEW moon,’ begins with the mandate to declare the upcoming month of Nisan, as the first month in the Jewish calendar.

Chanukah may be over but its message is not. Especially with recent challenges to Jewish lives, we need to find experiences that bolster our determination to thrive, and our confidence in humanity.

The word ‘Fall’ has varied associations. To the world, it is a season. On the calendar, it is ‘fall back’ time. For Jews, it is the month after a slew of holidays.

This year, during the 49 day Omer count that takes us from Pesach to Shavuot, and from the Exodus to the Revelation at Sinai, I have been preoccupied with the movie, "The Mustang," which I saw twice and would be happy to see again.

Morah Yehudis shares her thoughts about the Poway tragedy from Wednesday night's Yom HaShoah service.

Maybe all you’re missing is inside of you...