Rabbi Jim‘s Podcast Rabbi Jim Egolf

Shalom, it has been a long time. We also celebrated our oldest becoming Bar Mitzvah at his camp.  In this podcast are some reflections about our journey to this new place...

Happy Hanukkah! Let us pause for a moment and consider one element we often take for granted. 

Before our president speaks, I wanted to offer some Jewish perspective on the situation in Syria.

Remember the TV show Alice?  Apologies for swiping Flo's second most famous catch phrase, but it seems to fit with this week's Torah portion.  On the road to curse the Israelites, the pagan prophet Balam rides his donkey and encounters an angel.  His treatment becomes a cautionary tale for how we treat animals, yet what happens when bills are introduced to prevent people from reporting on such treatment and what might we do to further the words of our ancient teacher?

This week's Parasha tells of Moses' final 'sin' that will excluded him and Aaron from entrance into the Promised Land.  Yet, Moses' response this week was his response to a similar problem before.  What changed?  When in our lives do our same answers lead us to unintended consequences and, when does our Bible invite us to new answers?

This week...

The Last Time Moses Struck a Rock

Another Moment of a Repeated Answer

This weeks Torah portion carries the name of a person.  I always teach that if you have a name for a Torah portion, either the person did something very good or, well, not.  Pirkei Avot makes a direct mention of this Torah portion when it comes to disputes, and Jewish tradition has a rich history when it comes to recording the winners... and losers of debates in the Talmud....