Aviva and I began dating in 2003. As Jewish college students who served on the Rutgers Hillel Student Board, one of our talents was finding benefactors for our international travel. There seemed to be no shortage of individuals and organizations who wanted to send dedicated young Jews abroad, mainly to Israel. After dating for just…Read more »

The parshiot of Vayakhel and Pekudei explain, in detail, the various parts and ritual items of the Mishkan, the place where God dwelt among us throughout our desert wanderings. It might seem that studying these details could serve as a painful reminder that, once again, we are not meeting in our sanctuary this Shabbat. However,…Read more »

My friend and teacher, Rabbi Shmuel Green, a student of Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, once likened Yom Kippur to a piece of rope fastened at each end to two opposing points. Sometimes these connections become severed. However, when we tie the severed pieces together, we find that the two ends end up bound closer together than…Read more »

When young students first arrived at the feet of Rabbi Simcha Bunim of Peshischa, the famous leader of 19th Century Polish Hasidism, Rabbi Bunim would first relate to them this story: Rabbi Eizik, son of Rabbi Yekel of Cracow lived in poverty for many years. Though oppressive, it had never shaken his faith in God.…Read more »

Rosh Hashanah II 5780 Rabbi Scott B. Roland Congregation Shaarey Tikvah Beachwood, OH   I am going to talk to you about mental illness today. It is a serious subject and I pray it will not be triggering. I would like to share deeply, personally, and use a number of stories. I know you will…Read more »

Rosh Hashanah I 5780 Rabbi Scott B. Roland Congregation Shaarey Tikvah Beachwood, OH   For the past dozen years, I’ve been involved in a story. It began with my former landlady in Newton, Massachusetts sending an exterminator to the first apartment Aviva and I rented after our marriage, and the story continues to unfold today.…Read more »