Congregation Shema Yisrael

The story is told of a man who was a lover of old books. One day he ran into an acquaintance who, in the course of their conversation, casually mentioned that he had recently thrown away a Bible that had been stored in the attic of his family’s home for generations. “I couldn’t read it,” […] Source

Rabbi Paul wrote this to Messiah’s people in Corinth: Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves (2 Corinthians 13:5). Today is Shabbat Shuvah, the Sabbath of Repentance, the special Sabbath between Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur. It’s a day for self-examination and repentance. Repentance means turning away from what is […] Source

We are nearing the end of the yearly cycle of Torah readings, at which time we’ll return to Genesis. This week’s parasha, entitled Vayyelech, covers Deuteronomy 31. Israel has just reaffirmed the Covenant, and been assured, on the one hand, of great blessings if we would be obedient, but warned of dire consequences if we […] Source

This week Rabbi Glenn covered Isaiah 52:13-53:12. for the Bible Study Source

L’Shana Tovah. Besides this greeting for Rosh Hashanah, we also wish one another a “sweet new year”. In a little while we will be celebrating the new year with sweets of all kinds, including the very traditional apples and honey. Now the origins of our tradition of apples and honey is debated but there are […] Source

Years ago at a diner in New Jersey I read a humorous saying on a packet of sugar: “experience is a valuable thing; it helps you recognize a mistake when you make it again.” You know, they say the mind is the first thing to go. I disagree. What is the first thing to go? […] Source

This week our parasha is Nitzavim which means “Those Taking A Stand” and covers Deuteronomy 29:9-30:20. Parasha Nitzavim warns us that life boils down to one life altering choice, to choose God and life, or abandon Him and choose death. We begin in Deuteronomy 29 with Moses finishing his warning to our people. We are […] Source

This week for the Bible Study Rabbi Glenn covered Isaiah 51:9-52:12. There was also a short Q/A/ Source

This week’s parasha is entitled Ki Tavo, meaning “when you enter.” It covers Deuteronomy 26:1-29:8 (9). God gave very detailed statutes and ordinances that applied specifically to Israel’s inheritance, as they settled into the land of Canaan. Our parasha opens with two Declarations: the first one concerns the offering of Firstfruits and the second one […] Source

Shabbat Shalom. This morning, Lord willing, we will be reading together 2 Corinthians 5:16-6:2. This section of 2 Corinthians as part of 2 Corinthians 3-6 holds as very special place in my heart. This is because it is where I go for encouragement in ministry. 2 Corinthians gives us a model for what it means […] Source

This week Rabbi Glenn continued his study in Isaiah with Isaiah 50:1-51:8. Source

Because human beings tend to think in pictures, we sometimes learn and remember a truth better when it is taught to us through a story, or by the use of images, symbols or metaphors. This is why the prophets of Israel so often employed parables, or else compared individuals, nations or situations to things that […] Source

This week’s parasha is entitled Ki Teitzei, meaning, “When you go out,” it is from the book of Deuteronomy 21:10 -25:19. This parasha opens at the conclusion of the second of three discourses that Moses gave to Israel. The topic of this discourse is what God expects of Israel. Here, Moses goes into his final […] Source

This week our parasha is Shoftim, which mean “Judges”, and covers Deuteronomy 16:18–21:9. Parasha Shoftim teaches us the importance of justice, and how if we claim to love the Lord, we need to love justice as well. Our parasha picks up towards the end of Deuteronomy 16 with the need to have judges in every […] Source

We can have a rich spiritual life or a poor spiritual life; the choice is ours. If we choose to have a rich spiritual life, we can do things to make it happen. What does a rich spiritual life look like? What characterizes a rich spiritual life? A rich spiritual life produces a desire to […] Source

This week Rabbi Glenn covered Isaiah 49 and discussed God’s two servants: Israel and Messiah. He also highlighted the messianic prophecy in verses 5-7. Source

This week Rabbi Loren, Rebbetzin Martha, Rabbi Glenn, and Rebbetzin Alexandra discussed Proverbs 17 together. Source

Today’s Parasha is titled “Re eh”, which means “to see”. This Torah portion, from Deuteronomy 11:26 – 16:17, describes a blessing and a curse from God.  In chapter 11:26 – 28, God says, “see, I am setting before you a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord and […] Source

This week Rabbi Glenn covered Isaiah 46-48 (as well as Daniel ch. 5 – the fall of Babylon to Darius). The larger theme was God’s patient, gracious dealings and future restoration of Israel, but His coming judgment on Babylon. Source

The name of this week’s parasha is Eikev, which means “consequence”, and covers Deuteronomy 7:12-11:25.  In this parasha, the Israelis are promised blessings for obedience to Adonai’s commandments, and penalties if they disobey His commandments; they are also reminded to remember all that He did for them.  If the Israelis obeyed Adonai’s commandments, they would […] Source

Rabbi Loren and Rabbi Glenn discuss together Proverbs 14. Source

This week Rabbi Glenn reviewed Isaiah 44:24-28 and its context, and went on to study all of Isaiah 45 (Cyrus’ decree / God’s sovereignty). Source

In The Sound Of Music, Julie Andrews sang: Raindrops on roses And whiskers on kittens Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens Brown paper packages tied up with strings These are a few of my favorite things. What are a few of your favorite things? Try to think of five. If what I’m about to […] Source

The Torah portion for this Shabbat is called Va’etchanan, meaning “and I pleaded”. It covers Deuteronomy chapters 3:23 through 7:11. As the parasha opens, Moses was pleading with Adonai to reconsider allowing him to cross over into the Land of Promise. God’s answer was a firm “No” but He did allow Moses to ascend Mt. […] Source

This week Rabbi Glenn continued his study in Isaiah with Isaiah 44:1-45:3. Source