As newborns, we learn that if we scream someone will answer. This is a fine lesson for a newborn to learn. However, as we grow we learn that sometimes screaming is not the answer. Sometimes it is best to be quiet. At other times, we need to be selective in choosing a trusted friend in…Read more »

For me, one of the joys of Torah study is getting to know our sages. Through my learning, obscure names like Nittai, Hamnuna, and Abaye have become recognizable personalities and even friends. Today, I would like to introduce you to two these friends. They represent two ways of being. One was focused on a singular…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 »