Rabbi Cohen’s Writings

Dear Friends, As I write this final Shabbat message as your rabbi, I find myself returning to one word: Gratitude. For thirty-four years, I have had the extraordinary privilege of serving a community I love. Few people are blessed to spend an entire career doing work that gives [...]

Dear Friends, Next Friday, after ten years without missing a single week, I will send my final Shabbat message on this platform. As you might imagine, that reality has me reflecting on these messages and what they have come to mean to ME over the years. The tradition [...]

Dear Friends, About a year ago, a wise friend gave me some remarkably good advice. We were talking about retirement, Aliyah, and all the changes ahead for Raina and me. He told me that while the decision to retire and the decision to move to Israel were entirely [...]

Dear Friends, This week’s Torah portion finds the Israelites still wandering in the wilderness. The burdens of leadership have become overwhelming for Moses. He is exhausted, frustrated, depleted. So God instructs him to gather seventy elders who will help carry the responsibility of leadership. But then something unexpected [...]