by Paul Bernstein | Mar 25, 2019 | Uncategorized
Last week, amidst all the Purim celebrations and hijinks, we also opened our wallets or checkbooks to fulfill the mitzvah of “matanot l’evyonim,” gifts to the poor, as mandated in Megillat Esther itself. When we paused to ensure that all members of the community could...
by Paul Bernstein | Feb 5, 2019 | Uncategorized
If you like putting together IKEA furniture, the Torah portions this time of year are for you. Parshat Terumah contains the remarkable blueprint for the Mishkan, the temporary tabernacle or dwelling-place for God that Bnei Yisrael built in the desert and transported...
by Paul Bernstein | Dec 3, 2018 | Uncategorized
The shamash candle on the hanukiyah is the one we use to light all the others. It has no sacred status on its own, but it is essential to fulfilling the mitzvah of the holiday. We tell children it is the “helper” candle, critical to enable the other functions of the...
by Paul Bernstein | Oct 24, 2018 | Uncategorized
We are deep into the “bitter” month of Cheshvan, the month with no holidays. Finally, after all the excitement, meaning and activity of the month of Tishrei, after the High Holidays and Sukkot, we are back to routine, and everyone seems relieved, or perhaps guiltily...
by Paul Bernstein | Jul 5, 2018 | Uncategorized
I recently spent an intense week in Israel with my Leading Edge CEO On-Boarding cohort. Sitting in a café overlooking the walls of the Old City in a rare moment of quiet, I was struck by how, at least in Israel, some things never change (the vista of those ancient...
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