Rabbi Cohen’s Writings

Dear Friends, As one might expect, I find myself thinking a great deal about beginnings and endings these days. Strikingly, this week’s Torah portion speaks to that very moment in the life of our people. This week we come to the end of the book of Exodus and [...]

Dear Friends, This week’s Torah portion, Ki Tissa, contains one of the most painful moments in the entire Torah. Moses is alone on Mount Sinai, preparing to receive the tablets of the covenant. Down below, the Israelites wait. But as the days pass and Moses does not return, anxiety begins [...]

Dear Friends, This evening marks Repro Shabbat, a time to not only embrace our day of rest but also reflect on the significance of bodily autonomy for all individuals, especially women, given the weight of historical context. Following services, our community will once again assemble and distribute aftercare bags [...]

Dear Friends, This Shabbat, we read Parashat Terumah, the portion where the construction of the Mishkan, the portable sanctuary our ancestors carried through the wilderness, begins to take shape as a tangible project. God instructs Moses to inform the people that “v’yikchu li terumah—let them take for Me a gift; [...]