The Jewish calendar beckons adults and children alike to start choosing their costumes. As Purim is around the corner, Amazon carts fill with masks, capes, wands, and crowns. Purim is a holiday of surprise, a reminder that what we expect might completely be upside down by the end of the night. It’s a holiday where for a few hours, you can choose to be anyone or anything.
Posts by Rabbi Nicole Guzik
The Strength of Their Names
These past weeks have brought intense and brutal heartache to the Jewish people. This week, Itzik Elgarat, Ohad Yahalomi, Shlomo Mantzur, and Tsahi Idan were returned from captivity in Gaza, having been murdered by Hamas.
Five Years Later
This week marks the fifth yahrzeit of my friend and colleague, Rabbi Fred Elias. To mark this milestone, I reunited with several classmates at the Jewish Theological Seminary for a morning of memorializing, reflection, and learning.
The Sworn Truth
How often do we hear someone utter to themselves or casually remark, “I swear it’s true” – without taking the time to verify the veracity of their statements?
Take the Step
In the Exodus story, the sea splitting is considered one of the greatest miracles of all time. While at first Pharaoh tells the Jews to leave Egypt, he predictably changes his mind, and the Egyptians race to annihilate the Hebrew slaves. The slaves flee, only to face what seems like an endless floor of water and despair. How will they possibly reach the promise of freedom?
God’s Signs
As Pharaoh’s heart hardens, God continues to prove God’s existence and subsequently, God’s strength. Plagues are unleashed and God’s signs ultimately convince Pharaoh to let the Hebrew slaves leave Egypt.
Shortness of Spirit
The Torah reveals an uplifting message from God: God will redeem the Hebrew slaves from their misery! But as Moses relays the miraculous news, the Hebrew slaves essentially ignore his announcement. The news for which they awaited fell on deaf ears.
The Tzadikim
I have a feeling that Angelenos have met more tzadikim, more righteous people, this week than perhaps ever before. Maimonides, the great Jewish philosopher, teaches that any human being can strive to be as righteous as Moses. We have within each one of us the capacity to be wise, merciful, and generous. It isn’t a matter of finding the righteous. It is a matter of choosing to be righteous.
A Prayer During the Southern California Wildfires
Ribono shel Olam, Master of the Universe, protect those that are impacted by the devastating Southern California fires. Guide them towards shelter and safety. As family, friends, neighbors, and fellow Angelenos experience physical and emotional loss, may we turn towards each other with open homes and open hearts.
Very Good
When God creates human beings, God describes the act as, “Very good.”
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