by Rabbi Misha

A year is made up lots of little moments.

by Rabbi Misha

Days like these demand a light state of being if we do not want to fall into despair, anger and depression.

by Rabbi Misha

One of the most helpful concepts Jews have come up with, and one of the hardest to accomplish is called “Lishma”

by Rabbi Misha

One of my closest childhood friends became very religious when we were 16. Over the course of a year or two he transitioned from being the kid that introduces cheeseburgers to his slightly more traditional Jewish friends, to a bearded aspiring rabbi.

by Rabbi Misha

Before I share some thoughts on Hanukkah in advance of our celebration tomorrow, I’d like to acknowledge the anxiety and fear that the discussion in the Supreme Court on Wednesday may have provoked in many of you, especially women.

by Rabbi Misha

A prayer of gratitude from the daily prayers.

by Rabbi Misha

Imagine you knew the constellations as well as you knew your neighborhood. Like you knew how to get from the subway stop to your apartment, you knew the way from the Big Dipper to Orion.

by Rabbi Misha

Divine though it may be, the Torah was written by and about men.

by Rabbi Misha

This week I posted a note on the Shul’s Instagram about State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli’s decision to divest New York state’s pension fund from Unilever, the parent company of Ben and Jerry’s.

by Rabbi Misha

The Merriam Webster dictionary gives thirteen different meanings for the word “stand” as an intransitive verb, 7 as a transitive verb, and 3 of what they term the essential meaning of the verb. Each of them is true to how we use the word in English. None touch upon how the rabbis understand the word.

by Rabbi Misha

Beginnings are important. How you set out will likely color the rest of your journey. In this week’s parashah the Jews begin, or rather the Hebrews, out of which the Jews will emerge.

by Rabbi Misha

Hebrew school kicked off this week and it reminded me how fun it is to have conversations with young people about questions of spirituality and tradition.

by Rabbi Misha

The Torah is dead without us. It is a piece of dead animal skin with incomprehensible letters. Our job is to breathe the breath of life into it. We play God every time we read it.

by Rabbi Misha

It was beautiful kicking off the year with you. Many of you asked for a reminder of the assignment I gave to complete between now and Yom Kippur. This note will focus primarily on that.

by Rabbi Misha

I arrive at this new year wet, slightly ragged, but infused with new ideas and horizons I’ve picked up at our chevrutahs this last month. I come with a real feeling that I need to see you people, that we all need these holidays, that being together in whatever way each of us is able will give us the boost we need to dive into this year.

by Rabbi Misha

This Shabbat, stop and remind yourself that the holidays are coming. A new type of Beginning is returning to our city and our hearts.

by Rabbi Misha

But how does one begin the process of teshuvah, return? We are clouded by our circumstances, our suffering, our patterns of behavior, our ideas of what we want and need. Reaching that clear perception of truth is hard. Where might we start?

by Rabbi Misha

The Hebrew month of Elul is in full swing. Early every morning, and sometimes in the middle of the night Jews come together to prepare for the High Holidays by singing Slichot, prayers of apology and repentance.

by Rabbi Misha

The Talmud tells us of a few actions for which a person gets blessed not only in this world but also beyond: “Honoring one’s father and mother; The performance of righteous deeds; And the making of peace between a person and his friend;”