By Rabbi Aubrey L. Glazer, Beth Abraham Synagogue Why do we gather? As a tribal and global community, Jews know that gatherings play a huge role in our lives. In this process of our comings together of friends, family, and co-workers, Priya Parker teaches that we all have the potential

By Rabbi Tina Sobo Temple Israel Teshuva, generally translated as repentance, is a concept we Jews draw a lot from during the High Holidays. Its root meaning is to return. Most would say that we are returning to God, to a more righteous path of action, etc., and that this

By Rabbi Levi Simon, Chabad of Greater Dayton There is a captivating story in the Talmud that illuminates the extent to which Judaism values, loves, and is tolerant of all people — and teaches us to do the same. There was once a gentile who wished to convert to Judaism

By Rabbi Judy Chessin, Temple Beth Or On June 14, 1777, our Stars and Stripes became the first national flag of the United States, when the Continental Congress passed the first Flag Act to establish an official standard for the new nation and show solidarity with the Continental Army. In

By Rabbi Cary Kozberg Temple Sholom, Springfield Jewish tradition teaches that Shavuot is z’man matan Torateynu—the time of the giving of our Torah. It commemorates the moment when, after bringing us out of Egypt to Sinai, God called us to be a “kingdom of priests and a holy people” and

By Rabbi Haviva Horvitz, Temple Beth Sholom, Middletown Approximately one month prior to the deadline for this article, my husband, Ely David Spiegel, passed away of pancreatic cancer. In an effort to bring me comfort, a number of well-meaning friends tried to reassure me that “God only gives us what

‘Your pain is my pain, your happiness is my happiness.’ By Devorah Mangel, Chabad of Greater Dayton The shocking news of Oct. 7 reverberated not only within me, but also across the global Jewish community. In response, I immediately turned to the teachings of the Rebbe when he offered solace

By Rabbi Shmuel Klatzkin Chabad of Greater Dayton The year was 1939. Britain was closing the gates of their mandate in the Holy Land to the Jews just as the Nazi regime Britain had placated was about to conquer Eastern Europe and enslave and slaughter its Jews. German Jews had

By Rabbi Tina Sobo, Temple Israel One of my children just received Simon and the Bear: A Hanukkah Tale as their PJ Library book for the month. The tale starts out introducing Simon, a boy who is on his way to immigrate to America, when the boat he is on

By Rabbi Leibel Agar, Beth Jacob Congregation For most of us, Oct. 7 started off like every other Saturday. Even though it was both Shabbat and Shemini Atzeret, my routine did not waiver a single iota. As with every other Shabbat, I got up, dressed, and settled down to play