WORDS THAT BREATHE

What kind of country and world, do we want our children to grow up in? A Torah-based reflection on dignity, leadership, and the image of God

Love lives in the details—the small, intentional acts that show we care. Vayakhel teaches us that just as the Israelites built the Mishkan with devotion, we create holiness in our own lives through everyday gestures, like getting the right mustard and mayonnaise for my wife—because love, like faith, is best expressed in the language the other understands.

Reflecting on love, healing, and connection through the intertwined lives of a couple laid to rest together at their funeral and twin sisters celebrating their B’not Mitzvah. Discover the profound lessons of relationships and the tree of life.

In this spoken word poem, explore how Abraham's parents might have felt as he went off from Haran to the Promised Land, in search of his future.

COVID-19 could kill us, but it shouldn’t also bring shame upon us or our infected loved ones. And it won’t. Unless we play into the growing stigma that is at once immoral and dangerous to our mental health. If we play into that stigma, then COVID-19 will do both: shame us unfairly while increasing the chances it might kill us.

Midrashic Monologue: Where was Sarah in the Akeidah (Torah), when Abraham almost sacrificed their son Isaac? We think she saved Isaac's life and the Jewish future.

Midrashic Monologue: Did you ever wonder what Abraham thought about in the years following his “almost-sacrifice” of his son Isaac? Based on Parashat Vayeira and the Akeidah, we imagine Abraham’s inner struggles.

Noah's wife is mentioned 5 times in Torah, but her name - Na'amah - is not. Hear the voices of other silenced women of Torah.

Did God create a world before this one? Spoken-word poetry on Genesis.

Why Judaism cannot be anti-abortion

Think how much of life we miss when we cannot really see! Though our eyes may function quite well, our hearts and minds may impede their ability to find blessing in what is before them. This is precisely what happens to our patriarch Jacob.

Brad Halpern of Congregation Or Ami, Calabasas, CA reflects on the meaning of holding Torah on Kol Nidre.

Is Torah true? It really depends on your definition of the word "true." I am not parsing words here. The truth of Torah truly depends on what we mean by truth.

Is Torah True? Is there a difference between scientific truth and religious truth? Does Torah offer us answers to the how or the why of creation?

Be Chesed. In the midst of this election, choose unlimited overflowing love as your response. My Rosh Hashanah sermon

Torah commentary on Nitzavim: Why did the people have to stand up so long?

The clergy of Congregation Or Ami (Calabasas) share their vision of the synagogue as a sanctuary of kindness, your second home.

Sitting in my mentor's study, I soak up his wisdom. Rabbi Stan Davids seems to know so much about so many things and I wonder how that was possible.

Watch my Shabbat Video Message: When You Feel Outside the Community

At a meeting with Palestinians near Bethlehem. We gathered to encounter the truth. That we are all one.