Rabbi Guzik - A Bisl Torah

When does a miracle take place? Identifying a miracle is tricky business. How does one define a miracle? Definitions include a surprising occurrence that has divine agency or an improbable, unexplainable event that is both welcoming and wondrous. But I...

Imagine the scene: Moses is standing on the precipice, the cliff overlooking the Sea of Reeds. He is frightened and can’t imagine what the future holds. But he sees the armies of Pharaoh behind him and the water below. Seemingly...

Carefully ponder the question. When you think about the beating, pulsating muscle within your body, would you describe your heart as giving? Open? Guarded? Closed? Is your heart filled with mercy and compassion or anger and spite? Pause for a...

My children went on their first roller coaster. With each turn, I nearly squeezed the life out of my three-year-old, all five of us screaming with terror. By the end of the ride, I anticipated faces filled with tears and...

When someone learns about my profession as a rabbi, I am often asked: As a woman, how is your experience in comparison with your male colleagues? I graduated from rabbinical school in 2009. By then, already more than 30 years...

Can we really get over the pain? When we feel betrayed, hurt, disappointed by someone else’s actions, how often are we able to forgive? And in which ways does the hurt dissipate? Joseph learns that Jacob has died, and his...

I love drama. Who doesn’t love a story of lies, deception, romance and ambition? And no, I am not writing about “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” I will save that for another time. The narrative of Joseph is both surprising and...

Our incredibly soulful Sinai Temple Director of Musical Engagement, Jacob Gown led our preschoolers in a Channukah celebration. Among traditional songs, he sang “True Colors”, most notably performed by Cyndi Lauper. Jacob explained that during Channukah, we should use the...

I am a latecomer to the watching of the Netflix show, “The Good Place.” Please don’t spoil the end of Season 1 or Season 2. I am really only at the beginning. With that being said, the show questions and...

It is a tradition for my family to go out for breakfast the day after Thanksgiving. We stumbled out of bed, brushed the hair out of out eyes and laughed as every other person in the restaurant appeared the same:...