Jewish education forms the backbone of our communities. We assure the community of vitality and endurance through the Hebrew studies of our children, the outreach programs for those considering conversion, and the continuing education programs for other seeking adults.  And those programs need our support. Consider the added reading in today's Torah portion for Shabbat Shekalim. Read more...

This week's Torah reading describes at length the elaborate outfit of the Kohanim (Priests) in the Mishkan (Tabernacle). Not only were these elaborate and striking vestments used during the forty years of wandering in the wilderness, but they became the paradigm for the priestly robes in Solomon'sTemple in Jerusalem in a later period. They must have added a powerful sense of majesty and pageantry to the earliest worship of the one true God. Read more...