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Shabbat Weekly Dvar Torah

Zionism: A Call to Awe and Compassion

Nov 10, 2023

Zionism: A Call to Awe and Compassion

On some level, all Zionism relies on an ancient tradition that gives voice to human pathos, calling all to mercy and empathy in spirit and deed. At its most noble, Zionism could be a triumph of each individual’s yearning for wellbeing and community.
Lifting Our Eyes Beyond the Pain

Nov 3, 2023

Lifting Our Eyes Beyond the Pain

Opening Parshat Vayera, it is difficult to know where to look first. The parsha is filled with so many well-known narratives: Avraham welcoming the three angelic ‘guests’ into his tent… the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah… Sarah’s birth of Isaac… interaction between Sarah, Avraham, and Hagar... the Akedah (binding of Isaac... And these are just snapshots of the stories in this parsha. Your head and heart are pulled in so many directions as you read through the verses. And this is how I feel right now.
Go to Yourself

Oct 27, 2023

Go to Yourself

I think reading the Torah portion Lech Lecha this week is especially difficult. God promises Abraham and his descendants the land of Israel, inspiring a millennia-long relationship between the land of Israel and the Jewish people that continues to this day. In the wake of the recent events, I think many of us are questioning what it means to be the bearers of that promise... I want to take elements of God’s promise to Abraham and look at the different ways these elements might meet us in our lives right now...
The Ark of Our Lives

Oct 20, 2023

The Ark of Our Lives

We are living in dark and dangerous times, but as always, our tradition has much to teach us about how to navigate. First, we must recognize that we will all be toggling between our need to go out and impact the world and our need to regroup and strengthen ourselves internally… This need to find a balance between our inward and outward selves is a lesson we can derive from this week’s Torah portion, named for its chief protagonist, Noah.
Yea, Though I Walk Through the Valley

Oct 13, 2023

Yea, Though I Walk Through the Valley

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. For You are with me…” All of us are experiencing the many stages of grief and mourning. We are in a valley of darkness and pain, but we will not remain here forever.
Simchat Torah: Holding Onto Joy

Oct 6, 2023

Simchat Torah: Holding Onto Joy

Why do we need to be encouraged to be joyful during this week of Sukkot, culminating in Simchat Torah? Isn’t joy something that we should naturally gravitate towards and practice effortlessly? Well… think about your own life. Read about the lives of others. Especially these days it seems that a great many of us are having a difficult time “getting our joy on”…
Sukkot and Shemini Atzeret: the External and the Internal

Sep 29, 2023

Sukkot and Shemini Atzeret: the External and the Internal

The Torah instructs us that following the celebration of the seven days of Sukkot,"the eighth day shall be a time of Atzeret [translated as “retreat”] for you when you shall do no mundane work." What is the significance of this eighth day [called Atzeret]? And why does it follow the seven days of Sukkot?
Math and Fungus

Sep 22, 2023

Math and Fungus

Most of the time, we’re on autopilot. With everything that life throws at us, it has to be that way. So we see things only on a superficial level as we whizz by. On Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, we are called to look at life differently. We are encouraged to turn off the autopilot. We stop, think and analyze. We admit, regret and fix.
The CAJE Board & Staff Wish You and Your Family ShanaTova u’Metuka... A Sweet and Blessed New Year!

Sep 14, 2023

The Call of the Shofar

As the only communal Jewish organization in Miami striving to improve the quality of Jewish education at every level, CAJE is aware, prepared and ready to act on the voice calling us to keep pushing for greater excellence, for further transformation, for lasting impact on behalf of the Jewish people.
Bring Your Full Self

Sep 8, 2023

Bring Your Full Self

The Slonimer Rebbe, from a volume called, Mayanot Netzach, teaches that, “You stand before God this day — all of you,” meaning that when we stand before God, the entirety of our lives, the entirety of who we are and what we have done, stands before God.