Rabbi E in 3

Shalom, everybody! Join me in this special WALKING edition of Rabbi E in 3, as I follow in the footsteps of our patriarch, Avraham Avinu, who was commanded by Hashem in this week's portion (Lech Lecha) to get walking, to get GOING, to always be moving forward and GROWING...and to be a BLESSING in this world! (Not to mention always making sure to get your daily 10,000 steps). GOOD SHABBOS!

We begin the Torah again this Shabbat, beginning the book of Bereishis (Genesis), with the parsha that tells us WHO and WHAT we are! Yes, we are "dualistic," folks, we are the utterly unique being in all of Creation that is a composite of body (physical) and soul (spiritual). We can reach beyond the heights of angels, or we can descend below the level of animals. The choice is relentlessly, thrill...

We are getting ready to close out an incredible 3-week period of closeness to Hashem, starting with our "REbirth" on Rosh Hashanah; our "REturn" on the days of teshuva afterwards culminating in Yom Kippur; our "RE-joicing" on the festival of Sukkot...and now our ending the cycle of the Torah reading and RE-starting it once again on the incredible (and not-so-well known) holiday of Shemini Atzeres/...

Do you feel lighter today post Yom Kippur?? I do... physically yes (I can button my sport coat now, for real!), but more importantly, in a spiritual sense. The weight and stain of our transgressions lifted off/wiped away! Our purified selves. Let's take advantage of our new lightness to do great things: acts of chesed (kindness), Torah study, and mitzvot...including getting ready for Sukkot, which...

Yom Kippur, the holy Day of Atonement, is almost here...a day when we transcend our physical selves and pleasures, and taste the (even deeper) PLEASURE of closeness to G-d, to our spiritual essence, and to our fellow Jews and human beings. EAT (and drink) WELL today--it's a mitzvah--so you can have the strength to RETURN in love to a state of At-ONE-ment.

The Talmud teaches us that we should always see ourselves--and the entire world--as equally balanced between merits and transgressions. Do one single mitzvah NOW, and you save yourself and the entire world! Do one single transgression NOW, and....well....you fill in the blank. We are presently in the 10 Days of Return (teshuva) that culminate in the holy and sacred day of Yom Kippur, day of atonem...

No time to sit back and relax...it's time to DO!! More than usual. Why? We are in the awesome and powerful period known as the 10 Days of Return, which began on Rosh Hashanah, and continute until Yom Kippur one week from today. Every bit of extra energy put towards doing mitzvot, kind deeds (chesed), prayer (tefila) and giving charity (tzedaka) help us to "do teshuva," to RETURN to our true selves...

It's a busy day, as we all make final preparations for the joyous, and awe-inspiring, holiday of Rosh Hashanah. Here's a quick "last-minute" overview of these first TWO super-powerful days that kick off the new year...and which are themselves part of the incredible period called the "10 Days of Return (teshuva)." I like to call them, "Zamboni days," because the (spiritual) ice is smooth and fresh,...

Rosh Hashanah is a serious day, a time of din and mishpat (judgment), when the Holy One, Blessed be He, REMEMBERS and JUDGES each of us. Sounds quite hairy and scary...But it shouldn't be. Because that very King and Judge--Who sees and remembers everything, and Who wants us to take the day (and our lives on this earth) very SERIOUSLY--is also (primarily) our loving FATHER. He remembers us FOR GOOD...

"Remember us for Life," is what we beseech Hashem--not only on Rosh Hashanah itself but on ALL of the 10 days of teshuva (return) culminating in Yom Kippur. Now is the time to really start to think more deeply about life, our livesy--my life, your life. Why we really want it. Welcome to Rosh Hashanah Prep on this, the final Monday of the Jewish year 5786!

Each one of us has a choice before us: life or death, good or evil, blessing or curse. Every year, every day...really every minute!! Always. Let's finish the year strong and listen to Moshe Rabbeinu's words in this week's Torah portion, Nitzavim (always read immediately before Rosh Hashanah), spoken on the very last day of his earthly life: "See, I have placed before you today, the life and the go...

Rabbi E returns after a long hiatus!!!! Get busy running, skating ("Zamboni Days" = smooth spiritual ice) and BUILDING your new world as we get ready for the new Jewish year of 5787!

We go on lots of journeys in this world--small and big, to the mountains and to the beach...and sometime to far-off lands. But we learn from this week's Torah portion, Massei, which describes the Jewish people traveling and encamping in the Sinai desert--that the true purpose of all the journeys that Hashem leads us on in our lifetimes (and He IS leading us) is spiritual: to serve G-d, wherever an...

Today is a fast day, the 17th of Tammuz, and it ushers in a period of sadness in the Jewish calendar year, culminating in the Fast of the 9th of Av (Tisha b'Av)--the day on which both Temples were destroyed (not to mention other calamities). Is this about wallowing in the sufferings of the past? No, rather, we are truthfully acknowledging that the world is NOT where we want it to be, and coming to...

There is much to learn from the disruptive effects of the Canadian wildfires on the lives of people (including me, Rabbi E) hundreds and thousands of miles away. One main lesson is that we are profoundly interconnected on a physical (and environmental) level. But Judaism teaches that we are SPIRITUALLY interconnected as well. Every good deed we do (or word we say) helps to create a purer, more ill...

Is there a Jewish holiday that celebrates the very PURPOSE of existence? I'm glad you asked...The answer is YES. (And it begins in a few hours.) Shavuos, the time of the giving of the Torah. We Jewish people relive the awesome and utterly unique event of the Revelation at Mt. Sinai. Our entire nation was elevated to a level of prophecy, hearing the 10 Commandments directly from Hashem (or at least...

Shavuos is the most underappreciated Jewish holiday, for sure. It's even completely unknown to many Jewish people. TUNE IN to Rabbi E in 3, as we make the final countdown (or count up) to the festival of the giving of the Torah...the (national) Revelation at Mt. Sinai.

Shalom, everybody. Are you READY to GET READY for what is arguably the most important Jewish (holi)day in the Jewish calendar? It's 10 days from now...that's right...and it's the Jewish holiday you might never have even heard of (I didn't as a kid), or perhaps only have some vague idea about....But it's the holiday that really defines who we are as a Jewish people. We have 10 days to get ready for...

We have more rules on Seder night than any other night of the year. Is that "freedom?" Absolutely. Tune in as we discuss the deeper meaning of the freedom Hashem granted us when He took us out of Egypt more than 3300 years ago...and allowed us to become His servants

I'm Rabbi E, and I have not put out a podcast episode for weeks and weeks. But today is a new day, the first of the month of Nisan in the Jewish calendar: a day infused with the energy and power of renewal like none other in the calendar year. SO HERE IS A NEW START.  A new sound, a new approach, a new commitment to this podcast and its original vision and conception. ENJOY....and may this be...

Why a trip to Poland for a Jew is so important and meaningful, and INSPIRING! Recorded on my phone, live in Poland, while staffing a trip for Jewish students.

Join old Rabbi E, as I share insights, reflections and blessings on reaching halfway till 120. The Rabbis tell us that the age of 60 brings "seniority," (older age, if you will), but MUCH more importantly, WISDOM! And the foundation of all wisdom, Judaism teaches, is realizing that we, and the world, have a Creator and that He gave us a life full of so many blessings...in order to BE a blessing in...

Won't you stay just a little bit longer?? Tune in for this MUSICAL episode of Rabbi E in 3, as I melodically introduce you to the festival of Shemini Atzeres, the "8th Day of staying back," which takes place at the end of the Sukkot holiday (begins in an hour or two). APOLOGIES TO JACKSON BROWNE, but the very essence of this holiday is about staying in Hashem's presence just a little bit longer......

A few thoughts to start the week of Sukkot, recorded live from the Sukkah of Rabbi E!

Yom Kippur is an aweome day of return: returning to healthy relationships with others, and returning to the real, pure spiritual essence of who we are. And what makes that possible is both the forgiveness that Hashem (and other people!) lovingly grants us,and the PURIFICATION that we experience. All the "stains" on our souls, so to speak (from the hurtful and negative words, deeds and thoughts we...