A Wilderness Survival Guide
Rabbi’s Sermon by Rabbi Arnold Saltzman Parashat Bamidbar, Numbers: 1:1-4:20 Bamidbar, while speaking literally of wilderness, offers us a remarkable number of rich images and ideas: The taking a census …
Torah Commentary Parashat Bo Exodus 10:1-13:16
by Rabbi Arnold Saltzman This week’s parsha, Bo, continues the narrative of Moses and Aaron coming to Pharaoh in order to free the Israelite slaves. Pharaoh again refuses. Having refused …
“Better Gods” Gives Operatic Life to a Little-Known Chapter in History
by Rabbi Arnold Saltzman Writing an opera on the history of Hawaii is a bold endeavor, as it explores a history and culture less familiar to us, yet of significance …
Rabbi’s Sermon “And We Cried Out!”
Kol Nidre/Yom Kippur 5776 by Rabbi Arnold Saltzman Vanitzʼak is a word found in several verses of the Torah. It means ʻand we cried out!ʼ This is a year for …
Rabbi’s Sermon – Rosh Hashanah 5776
by Rabbi Arnold Saltzman Today, we celebrate the birthday of the world. In spiritual and biblical counting devised by the rabbis we are beginning 5776 years since the biblical telling …
Rabbi of Rome
by Rabbi Arnold Saltzman Rabbi Elio Toaff, Rabbi of Rome and spiritual leader of the Jews of Italy, died recently a few days short of his 100th birthday (April 30, …
Sermon – “Should We Build A Third Temple?”
by Rabbi Arnold Saltzman Recently we observed the 19th anniversary of the assassination of Prime Minister of Israel Yizhak Rabin. In addition, recently a right wing activist in Israel was …
Yom Kippur Sermon 5775 – 2014 Extracting the Good out of the Difficulty in Life
Yom Kippur is a day of fasting, when we focus on the sins and difficulties of life, and when we find our way through the maze of problems and tragedy …
Sermon: Not ‘Those’ Candles, Dummy!
Rabbi Arnold Saltzman In the movie, ‘Play It Again Sam’, the main character is advised by the ghost of Humphrey Bogart, a kind of ‘movie angel’ who appears in this …
Sermon: Fiddler On The Roof, Fifty Years and Still Young
Rabbi Arnold Saltzman Let’s face it. We are not going to fix everything that is wrong with the world at our service. We need a Shabbat to not obsess over …