Rabbi Sherman - Honorable Mensch-ion

We are in graduation season. Pomp and circumstance constantly plays in my mind as I attend religious school, day school, and pre-school graduations. Parents shed both a smile and a tear, acknowledging accomplishments and challenges overcome. Yet, what will we...

The kippa drawer is a defining place in a Jewish home. It is that top drawer of a credenza where we collect head coverings from lifecycle events. This week, we cleaned out our kippa drawer. As we went through this...

I thought I knew about the tooth fairy until I didn’t. This week, my daughter lost her first tooth. In speaking with other parents, I learned that there are different philosophies about how the tooth fairy works. Does the tooth...

Shalom is typically the first Hebrew word that a Jewish child learns. Hello, goodbye, and peace. Our liturgy is filled with prayers for peace; peace for the world, peace for the land of Israel, and peace within our hearts and...

I learned a great lesson from a second grader this week. In preparation for the Valley Beth Shalon OurSpace Special Needs Art Gallery showing of by brother’s art, I spoke to their temple’s day school students. To introduce the artwork of...

No trip to Philadelphia is complete without a visit to the Liberty Bell. And no visit to the Liberty Bell is complete without mention of Parshat Behar, for the words of our tradition, “And you shall proclaim liberty throughout the...

Today, I am being shadowed by a 4th grade student from Sinai Akiba Academy, who will have the opportunity to be a “Rabbi for a day.” The questions I have been asked are both innocent and deep. One such conversation...

Are we involved in holy work? Recently, I have had the good fortune of teaching Torah outside the walls of Sinai Temple. Our clergy have dispersed throughout greater Los Angeles to teach Torah in our congregants’ offices, over lunch. We...

The Lubavaticher Rebbe once said, “Evil is simply the absence of good, it has no real existence of its own, and is dispelled in the light of goodness.” The Rebbe’s teaching is a beautiful guide towards making the world a...

If you asked someone living in Israel two generation ago, “Where are you from,” very few would say “I’m from Israel.” They would tell you, “I’m from Poland, Russia, Morocco, Iran, Spain, or France.” We are blessed that today the...