Rabbi Cohen’s Writings

Dear Friends, In this week’s Torah portion Moses and the People of Israel receive the Decalogue, the Ten Commandments. The text tells us: שמות כ:יד וְכָל הָעָם רֹאִים אֶת הַקּוֹלֹת וְאֶת הַלַּפִּידִם וְאֵת קוֹל הַשֹּׁפָר וְאֶת הָהָר עָשֵׁן וַיַּרְא הָעָם וַיָּנֻעוּ וַיַּעַמְדוּ מֵרָחֹק. כ:טו וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֶל מֹשֶׁה דַּבֵּר [...]

Dear Friends, I was recently reminded of one of the first Jewish stories/jokes I learned. It speaks of a man of deep faith who was traveling on an ocean liner that was overwhelmed by a storm and began to founder. The frenzied crew offered the man a life [...]

Dear Friends, When Raina and I got on the plane at the end of July after spending a few weeks in an Airbnb in Tel Aviv, I never expected I would be back just a few months later. But then the October 7th massacre happened, and I knew [...]

Dear Friends, I’m taking a bit of time to step back and reenergize. As I do, I am reminded of the wisdom of our ancestors who urged us to take one day a week to refresh and reconnect—with ourselves, with others and with Divinity. I wanted to share [...]