The times they are a changin’ — and so is the tune in our Portland synagogue
By Rabbi Akiva Herzfeld (YCT ’07)
On Sunday night, September 21, the Jewish people celebrate Yom Kippur. As the Hebrew new year begins, we realize that “the times, they are a-changin’.”
Seeing the Place Again
by Rabbi Benjamin Berger (YCT ‘09), incoming President and CEO of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah As we approached the Canadian Rockies, wildfires hundreds of miles to the west had filled the air with smoke. Driving toward what we knew to be some of the most majestic mountains in North America was...
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YCT Alumni Rabbi Hody Nemes & Rabbi Ari Hart: Hersh’s Fridge dedicated in Skokie in memory of Hersh Goldberg-Polin
A kosher community fridge honoring Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a 23-year-old with Chicago ties who was taken hostage and later killed by Hamas, was dedicated Wednesday in Skokie. Hersh’s Fridge, which organizers describe as the country’s first kosher community fridge, is open 24 hours a day and offers prepared meals, produce, groceries...
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YCT Chag HaSemikha Highlights 5786
This year’s Chag HaSemikha was intimate, meaningful and inspiring. We hope these photos capture the joy and beauty of the evening.
“The silence was not the whole story” by Rabbi Amitai Fraiman (’16)
What the response to Haggai Segal revealed about American Jewry, Israeli anxiety and the bridge between them.
25 Years of Impact: I Never Had a Rabbi Like Aviad Bodner
by Ari Goldman
Most pulpit rabbis I know sit on the bimah overlooking the congregation. They are a symbol of order and dignity — and they keep the services running on track.
But not Rabbi Bodner. He is a kinetic force who pings around the shul like a pinball.
eJewish Philanthropy: What the Australian response to Bondi reveals about Jewish institutional readiness
In the days immediately following the antisemitic attack at Bondi Beach, Rabbi Amitai Fraimen (’16) flew to Sydney with Rabbi Avi Weiss to show up for the Jewish community in its aftermath. Only hours after arriving, they attended the funerals of Boris and Sofia Gurman z”l, who were killed while...
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Rabbi Max Davis (YCT ’08) on bearing witness and making a difference in Minneapolis
Rabbi Max Davis, who leads the Minneapolis Modern Orthodox synagogue Darchei Noam Congregation, was one of 49 Jewish leaders to sign a Jan. 16 letter from the Minnesota Rabbinical Association, which said ICE was “wreaking havoc across our state” and which resolved to “bear witness and make a difference.”
The Canadian Jewish News: MAID in conflict with Jewish values by Rabbi Seth Winberg (YCT ’11)
Rabbi Seth Winberg: Canadian Jewish leaders from every denomination should articulate clearly that MAID’s existence and expansion fundamentally contradict Jewish values about infinite human worth.
New on Rikers Island: a Jewish prayerbook designed with incarcerated congregants in mind
The one-of-a-kind siddur features bright colors, bold text and an amalgam of Hebrew, English, Russian and Ladino prayers, as well as meditations on healing and recovery and poems by individuals currently or formerly in custody at Rikers.
