Rabbi Guzik - A Bisl Torah

As we once again start at the beginning of the Torah, some of my favorite pieces of midrash (rabbinic stories) emerge from our tradition.  A gem from Genesis Rabbah: God’s creation of heaven and earth can be compared to the...

Last night congregants invited us over to dine in their beautiful sukkah. The food was delicious, company was great and our children enjoyed playing together. But the best part of the evening was when our host gathered his daughters onto...

Arguably, truly listening to someone is one of our hardest tasks as busy human beings. Often we think that we can listen while multi-tasking. Doing laundry, checking emails, washing the dishes…listening feels like something we can do while engaged with...

Tomorrow, our son, Zachary is turning three. I never really understood the dilemma of being a middle child. I am the oldest of four and there was always a playmate for a sibling. Teams were evenly divided; there was equal...

It is the Friday before Rosh Hashana. For some of us that means final sermon preparations, printing, rehearsing, and making sure we know the correct cantillation for our Torah readings. For others it means preparing the apple kugel, ironing the...

Tomorrow evening, we gather together for what is called Selichot: a night of petitioning God to remember us in this High Holy Day season. Often the days of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur feel overwhelming…the amount of people, the pressures...

Getting “ready” for the High Holy Days isn’t an easy task. I don’t mean the writing of sermons or organization of the honors list. I am talking about soul work. Real work. Being open to repairing our wrongs and admitting...

Last week, my husband and I asked my 26 year old brother to help us babysit our children. Specifically, we needed him to help us early Friday morning, so he slept over the night before. Now, remember, we have a...

What music are you listening to? For the past three days, our children insisted on listening to every word from the soundtrack of the musical “Annie”. Our family enjoyed toddler renditions of “It’s The Hard-Knock Life”, “Maybe” and of course,...

This is a Bisl Torah on the go. Our family is traveling  throughout Philadelphia this week and spending time with loved ones. Diggerland, the Reading Terminal, Philadelphia Art Museum and other highlights are some of the stops on the trip. But...