This has been a difficult year to root for rabbis.  One rabbi in Israel made national news when accused by several women of sexual harassment and inappropriate exploitation of his position as counselor and teacher.  Another rabbi was filmed on national TV in what seemed like a highly inappropriate encounter.  A yeshivahteacher of many years has been accused by several (now) men of past abuse. Yet another rabbi was charged with inappropriate sexual and financial dealings.  Read more...

REPRINT FROM RABBI GAIL LABOVITZ 5771 I wrote this drasha three years ago when our daughter was about to leave for college. Now it is our son's turn: two days after Shabbat Shoftim he will board a flight to Israel to spend the school year there as a participant in the Nativ gap-year program. The wishes and thoughts I had about this transition regarding his sister are no less true for him. This week, this drasha is "For Joel". - - - - - - - Read more...

Sukkot is a festival of striking beauty and contrasts. For one week each year, we abandon the stolid permanence of our homes and live, instead, in the fragile, temporary structure of sukkot (booths). These booths remind us that we do not truly own our possessions. Things that we hoard and accumulate we will one day pass on to others. They can be lost, or broken, or stolen. The only true possessions we own are deeds of care and service, mitzvot. Read more...

"When you go to war against your enemies..."(Deuteronomy 20:1)   Chapter 20 of Deuteronomy prescribes a number of rules about going to war. From what we learn in the Torah itself and in the books of Former Prophets, the Israelites often were at war. Thus these rules, even if they seem arcane to us, probably guided our ancestors in their wars. Read more...

By the time you, dear reader, have this drasha delivered to your in-box or find it posted on the internet, my elder child will be in New York City, participating in freshman orientation at New York University (okay, so they're starting a day late thanks to Hurricane Irene, but still...). And I will be back in Los Angeles, a continent away. As we read the book of Devarim this year, I thus find myself identifying with Moshe in ways I had not contemplated before. Read more...