By Rabbi Tina Sobo, Temple Israel Rabbi Shimon ben Shetach was a very poor but well-respected Torah scholar who worked diligently in the flax trade — notable for its difficult labor. His students, concerned at how strenuous the work was for ben Shetach, and wishing to learn the most from

By Rabbi Tina Sobo , Temple Israel As I write this, we are in the midst of reading the Torah portions about constructing the Mishkan, the Tabernacle. I was reminded of the Chasidic teaching about the little boy who goes out into the woods to pray for longer and longer

By Rabbi Tina Sobo, Temple Israel We are taught as Jews that we are to “walk in God’s ways (Deut 26:17),” which among interpretations in the Talmud means to do as God does: clothe the naked as God did for Adam and Eve, visit the sick as God did for

By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer Eight years ago, at the 18th World Maccabiah Games in Israel, Team USA swimmer Tina Sobo decided she wanted to become a rabbi. This July, Sobo returned to Israel for the 20th World Maccabiah Games as the assistant rabbi for Team USA. “When

By Rabbi Tina Sobo, Temple Israel In my pre-rabbi life, I was a competitive swimmer. As I entered Hebrew Union College for rabbinical school, I was coming off 18 years of a life that involved a lot of chlorine. Unlike many of my soon-to-be colleagues, my resumé was not speckled with