Rabbi Cohen’s Writings

Dear Friends, If you are hosting either of this year’s Seders, I’m sure your home, like mine, is currently filled with the smells of chicken soup, brisket, and kugel. The china and good silverware have been pulled out of the upper cabinet where they spend most of the [...]

Dear Friends, As Passover approaches I often look at the section of my bookshelves that hold an assortment of Haggadot. Of all the Jewish texts in existence, the story of Pesach is one that is told and retold in myriad ways. As a result, I have numerous different [...]

Dear Friends, Pikudei, this week’s Torah portion, is the last portion in the Book of Exodus. In addition to bringing the second book of the Torah to a close, it concludes the weeks-long process of collecting materials and fabricating them into the Tabernacle, the portable Temple our ancestors [...]

Dear Friends, In this week’s Torah portion, Vayakhel, the people are commanded to take the next step toward turning the “mixed multitude” that left Egypt into a sacred community. Anyone motivated to be one of the foundational community “builders” is invited to do so. As the text tells [...]