Rabbi Cohen’s Writings

Dear Friends, In the small section of the Talmud known as Pirkei Avot—Ethics of the Fathers—we find a powerful teaching that is as relevant today as when it was first uttered. In it, the rabbis warn us to be cautious with our words, teaching, “חכמים, היזהרו בדבריכם”Sages, be [...]

Dear Friends, As we approach the Festival of Shavuot, I wanted once again to spend some time this week exploring teachings from the small section of the Mishnah known as Pirkei Avot. Tradition teaches that we read one chapter each week between Passover and Shavuot, and one particular teaching [...]

Dear Friends, This week’s portion, Parashat Emor, finds us well into the book of Leviticus. It opens with the familiar rhythm of laws—ritual, structure, and the sacred ordering of time—that defines so much of this book. And then, at the very end, the Torah shifts. Abruptly. Jarringly. After [...]

Apologies in advance for this Holy Day-length Shabbat message! Dear Friends, This week I found myself going back to a sermon I wrote almost twenty years ago. The sermon was about Israel, about misinformation, about delegitimization, and about the challenge of loving something that is imperfect. It was about the [...]