Rabbi Cohen’s Writings

Dear Friends, Every year around this time, someone inevitably asks me a great question: If the Torah refers to the month of Nisan—the spring month when our ancestors left Egypt—as the first month of the year, why do we celebrate Rosh Hashanah now, in Tishrei, which is the [...]

Dear Friends, This week’s Torah portion, Ki Tavo, offers some of the most dramatic images in the entire Torah. Early in the portion, the Israelites are told to position themselves between two mountains—Har Gerizim and Har Ebal. From the top of one of the mountains words of blessing [...]

Dear Friends, This week’s Torah portion, Ki Teitzei, contains more mitzvot than any other section of the Torah. What’s striking, though, is how many of those commandments focus on the small details of daily life. We’re told to return a lost animal to its rightful owner. We’re commanded [...]

Dear friends, I was editing this week’s Shabbat Message when I paused to read a blog post by my colleague Rabbi Josh Weinberg. Josh is the head of ARZA, the Association of Reform Zionists of America (our movement’s Zionist arm.) His words are so thoughtful and powerful and address both [...]