Knowing how to pray is probably one of the most essential tools that a Jew needs to live his life in a meaningful way. It is through prayer that we connect with G-d. It is an anchor in times of trouble. It gives solace and is a healthy outlet for our anger at the injustices

The parallels are strikingly evident.

Can we really change the past? (Is it magic?)

This article first appeared in The Jewish Press on September 27, 2011 and has been reprinted with permission. It was the kind of event I attend frequently these days, and I was in a role in which I often find myself. It was a Jewish gathering to which a number of political officials had been

Aseret Yimei Teshuva (10 Ten Days of Atonement) is a time for deep reflection and personal inventory individually and collectively, of our past deeds, misdeeds and omissions. It is a time when G-d is particularly near and entreats us to redouble our efforts and determination to correct ourselves, advance in our spiritual growth and access

It’s a scary familiar term – one that we invoke to assess the unexplainable and capture the unimaginable. The phrase? Hester Panim and it means that God hides His face from us. Rather than penetrate this notion, let us simply observe from whence it emerges. Perhaps it will offer us a window into the notion

It’s pretty instructive to note that the English word sin derives from the Proto-Indo-European word fragment, es, meaning to be. The Christian notion linking sin with our very essence as human beings couldn’t be farther from the Jewish understanding of the nature of sin. The phrases “born sinner” and “original sin” have no place in