I’ve been thinking of my father, of blessed memory, lately. He was born in Dayton, Ohio in 1911 and died in 1988. Two particular aspects of his childhood captivated me when I was young: the fact that his daily walk to and from school had him pass by the [...]

Purim, that spring revel-of-a-holiday that is always touched with a suggestion of anarchy, falls on March 9/10 this year. If your memory needs refreshing, Purim brings us the story of an ancient Persian Jewish community that, overnight, finds itself facing a genocidal threat. Scholars are generally of the opinion [...]

Chavurah @ FJC Whenever I have the opportunity to engage new members of our congregation in conversation and I ask them what led them to join us, I am frequently told that they were attracted to the warmth and vibrancy of our community. Needless to say, it is always [...]

As January approaches each year, a song percolates up through my consciousness and I pull up on my computer, and listen to, several recorded versions of it . It is called Beautiful Fool and it was written by Don Henry. You can hear a beautiful recording of it, by [...]

The Shabbat following Tisha B’Av, that summer date commemorating the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, is known as “Shabbat Nachamu.” The name is taken from the opening word of the week’s haftarah: Nachamu, nachamu ami—“comfort, comfort My people.” It is with this sentence that we begin the series [...]