Category: Year
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Shemot 5781: “Democracy and Torah”
This past Wednesday afternoon I spoke to a group of students who attend a Christian high school that is a sort of Protestant version of the Jewish day schools that many of our children attend. In…
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Noach 5781: “And the Dove Returned”
Last Friday afternoon, a short time before Shabbat began, I received a letter and package in the mail that has been a source of encouragement and hope during the past week. Here is the letter: “Since…
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Yom Kippur 5781: “Prayer in a Time of Crisis”
I had a remarkable experience last week, unlike anything I have ever encountered. It was positive and I hope I never have to repeat it. On each morning of Rosh Hashanah, I completed my own tefilot…
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Rosh Hashanah 5781: “The Lonely Man of Faith in a Pandemic”
Google Calendar has been trolling me for the past six months. Not a week has gone by in which Google Calendar – ostensibly trying to be helpful – has not reminded me of some upcoming event…
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Devarim 5780: “The Background Music of Life”
לַכֹּ֖ל זְמָ֑ן וְעֵ֥ת לְכָל־חֵ֖פֶץ תַּ֥חַת הַשָּׁמָֽיִם׃ For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a…
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Tetzaveh 5780: “Filling Absence with Presence”
Torah Tzivah Lanu Moshe. The Torah, and its content, was commanded to us through Moshe our teacher. And, from the day that he was named, early in Parashat Shmot, until the very last verses of the…
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Terumah 5780: “Walls and What They Contain”
The morning of August 11, 2008, began like any other. Sara, pregnant at the time with Hillel and Akiva, had a routine prenatal exam, and I drove to Princeton to spend the day unpacking boxes in…
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Vaera 5780: “Shortness of Breath”
Many of you know this morning’s Torah portion very well. You know the plagues that were inflicted on the Egyptians. If I say, “dam, tzfarde’ah…” you know what comes next (kinim). If I say “let my…
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VaYigash 5780: “From the Maccabeats to Monsey: Standing Tall and Drawing Close”
Shannah Tovah. Just kidding. But a new decade does provide a chance to look back over the past ten years. In the days leading up to Hanukkah ten years ago a group of Yeshiva University students,…
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VaYeshev 5780: “The Light of Torah”
On September 28th, 1997, I made my way to Madison Square Garden for a historic event. On that day the daf-yomi cycle of synchronized Talmud study was completed for only the tenth time since this learning…
Rabbi David Wolkenfeld 