Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai, great sage of his generation, was once walking with his disciple, Rabbi Joshua, near Jerusalem after the destruction of the Holy Temple. Rabbi Joshua looked at the temple ruins and said, "Alas for us the place which atoned for the sins of the people Israel lies in ruins." Then Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai spoke to him these words of comfort, saying, "Do not grieve, my son. There is another way of gaining atonement even though the temple is destroyed. Read more...

2011 Ordination Charge to the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies Ordinands Read more...

Several years ago I had the pleasure of taking a trip to the land of Israel traveling with my wife, Elana, and with a dear friend and rabbinic colleague. At some point Elana had some family business in Tel Aviv, so I and my friend took a bus ride to the North, to the mystical city of Tzvat. On the bus we were approached by someone wearing a black hat, very strictly observant, who started a religious argument in which I declined to participate, but which my colleague and friend seemed to enjoy. Read more...

On the eve of the Festival of Shavuot, celebrating God’s gift of Torah and our ongoing receiving of Torah, it is fitting to share Rabbi Artson’s words delivered at the most recent ordination celebrated by the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies at the University of Judaism. 21 new rabbis were launched in their new service with a community of 1300 celebrants – family, friends, and community to cheer them on. May these words help you to receive the Torah anew this Shavuot, and throughout the year. *** Read more...

Shavuot, the Festival celebrating God’s revelation of Torah, has become one of Judaism’s hidden jewels. Far more Jews observe Yom Kippur or the Seder than stay up late to learn at a Tikkun Leil Shavuot. What makes this relative obscurity all the more unfortunate is that the notion of God giving the Torah to the Jewish people is at the center of Judaism in every age, and remains so in every contemporary expression of Jewish religion. Read more...