Rabbi Charles S. Sherman is Senior Rabbi of Melrose B’nai Israel Emanu-El in Elkins Park, PA. He has written a book called The Broken and The Whole, Discovering Joy After Heartbreak: Lessons from a Life of Faith. (Scribner/Simon and Schuster). His son Eyal suffered a brain stem stroke at the age of 4, and for…Read on →
A review of history. . . Between 167 and 164 BCE, the Syrian-Greek king Antiochus IV, who was politically and militarily in control of Judea at the time, imposed a series of decrees upon the population of Judea, effectively banning the observance of Judaism. Though throughout the preceding centuries there had been many wars for…Read on →
Our Torah portion this week features one of the most seminal moments in our history as a people. Jacob is returning to Canaan after his hasty exit some 20 years earlier. Esau, as the older brother, even if only by a few minutes, was rightly entitled to inherit the birthright of land and leadership, and…Read on →