Mississippi synagogue arson recalls our long history of resilience
Posted on January 15, 2026 6:51 pm by Rabbi Daniel Stein
Parasaht Va’era Exodus 6:2-9:35 January 15, 2026
In the early morning hours of Shabbat on May 21, 1754, the Jewish community of Prague experienced one of its worst nightmares: A fire broke out in the Jewish Quarter. The blaze was immense, and with only bucket brigades available to combat the flames, the destruction was catastrophic. By the time the...Read More »
What ‘Wicked’ and the Talmud say about Jewish headwear
Posted on November 26, 2025 3:37 pm by Rabbi Daniel Stein
Published in J. Weekly November 26, 2025 link
When I was a student at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, we often kvetched that one could spend six years in rabbinical school and still not know why Jews light candles on Shabbat or why we wear kippahs. This is not because JTS...Read More »
Creating a sense of national unity has its shadow side, too
Posted on August 22, 2025 12:37 pm by Rabbi Daniel Stein
As published in the J Weekly. August 21, 2025
Re’eh Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17
I remember the first time my wife Dena and I visited Yosemite. As we rolled down our windows approaching the park, we were greeted by the scent of pine and cedar while taking in the views. While I had never been there before, everything felt oddly familiar.
Embarrassed, I...Read More »
Why did Jews slaughter red heifers?
Posted on July 4, 2025 4:56 am by Rabbi Daniel Stein
As published in the J. Weekly, July 3, 2025 Parashat Ḥukat Numbers 19:1-22:1
When I was a child attending the Hebrew Academy of Toledo, a now-shuttered day school in Ohio, we listened to many songs written and performed by Country Yossi, an Orthodox parody songwriter who was a kind of...Read More »
A note on the Israel-Iran situation
Posted on June 13, 2025 3:01 pm by Rabbi Daniel Stein
Dear Friends, Last night, we watched as Israel launched a large scale attack against Iran’s nuclear capabilities. These attacks came in the wake of the IAEA’s unique announcement finding Iran to be in breach of international agreements about its nuclear program. This afternoon, we began to see the beginning of Iran’s response, as it launched long range missiles against Tel Aviv. For all of us,...Read More »
A message on the DC Violence
Posted on May 22, 2025 1:10 pm by Rabbi Daniel Stein
Dear Friends,
I was shocked, as I am sure many of you were, to awaken to the tragic news of Sarah Milgrim’s and Yaron Lischinsky’s outrageous murder. I am filled with equal measures of sadness and outrage. I am saddened for their tragic life, and for families who will have struggle with the void left in their absence. Already, we have learned...Read More »