Rabbi Sherman - Honorable Mensch-ion

Passover is also called zman cheruteinu, a time of our freedom. We recline like royalty, sing freedom songs, and eat delicacies. Yet, we end our holiday with Yizkor, prayers of remembrance. Our Judaism is filled with commemoration and joy at...

Why are there so many laws on Passover to commemorate one miracle, that of the Exodus? Sefer Hachinuch, the 13th century book of mitzvot, explains we are affected in accordance with our actions, and our heart and thoughts constantly follow...

I visited Poland three times during Rabbinical school, as I led teenagers on a journey to learn about the Shoah, the Holocaust. On our first day in Warsaw, we would begin at Mila 18, the sight of the Warsaw Ghetto...

This week, I sat on a panel of Rabbis from all denominations. Our audience was unique, consisting of mayors and heads of regional councils from various areas in Israel. Some of the distinguished guests were religious and others were secular....

Theodor Herzl wrote, “Dreams are not so different from deeds as some may think. All the deeds of men are only dreams at first.” The book of Exodus concludes with the construction of the Mishkan, the Tabernacle. We began the...

Try to hold your hands above your head, with your arms straight into the air. It is a difficult stretch to do for more than a minute. Yet, this is exactly what Moses did to lead the Jewish people into...

I remember the first time I saw that the ner tamid, the eternal light, was not lit. It was a harrowing experience. As I grew older, I saw the lamp not only as an object, but as a motivating factor of...

This week’s Torah is a prayer by Rabbi Nicole Guzik. Ribono shel olam, Master of the Universe, it is with anger, rage, confusion and sorrow that we turn our hearts to you. Today, parents prepare funerals for their babies. Today,...

As a recently bereaved brother, I learned quickly that even a rabbi needs a rabbi in times of need. Over the past four months of reciting the Kaddish daily, I discovered that my rabbis are my congregants in the daily...

The Maggid of Yerushalayim would tell a story of a father who complained bitterly that his son had joined a yeshiva. “How could he do this to me?” he lamented. “My parents were religious and I was smart enough to...