Rabbi Guzik - A Bisl Torah

This week, Rabbi Sherman and I are serving as Rabbis-in-Residence at Camp Ramah in Ojai, CA. Please enjoy the words that Rabbi Sherman wrote and sent to the families of Ramah campers. Shabbat shalom! While I cannot count the number...

We just came back from a short trip to San Francisco. We visited many San Francisco landmarks and the tour guides often quipped the same refrain, “We learned our lesson after the quake.” Sometimes it was the 1906 earthquake; other...

My husband likes to tease me, claiming bad weather follows wherever I go. We traveled to Philadelphia, and for several days we experienced nothing but sunny, cloudless skies. The final day of our trip, we barely missed a rainstorm that...

A few weeks ago, Sinai Temple took Shabbat to the beach. We prayed in front of the Pacific, overwhelmed by the beauty and awe of God’s creation. I remember wondering what the children of Israel thought as they stood before...

This “Bisl” is being featured in the Jewish Journal: I stood in front of a mirror with three of my college girlfriends. The mirror was inscribed with the following: You are beautiful inside and out. The four of us get...

There is a story about the Baal Shem Tov and his obsession with light. His disciples knew how much he loved a bright room and so, in his presence, they tried to fill every room with candles. But one day,...

This week I dropped my son off at a new camp. In the mornings, I offer to sit on the gym steps and wait with him until a familiar face arrives. With a tight-lip and strong face, he shakes his...

Revel a little. Eat the ice cream. It’s not in my personality to be spontaneous. I am a methodical person and live by to-do-lists and thoughtful planning. But there is something about the start of summer that makes me want...

A wonderful colleague of mine is leaving for the east coast. We decided to sit down and conduct “exit interviews.” An exit interview is usually a chance to explain the positives of an organization and offer suggestions for improvement, helping...

In my most recent guitar lesson, the teacher gently and firmly reminded me that he was the teacher and I was the student. I have no previous knowledge of how to play guitar or form chords, but I insisted he...