Wednesday, September 24th 2025 |
By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER
The final piyyut (liturgical poem) sung on Rosh Hashana morning is, commonly, “Hayom” (“Today”): “Today, give us strength; Today, grant us blessing, etc.”
Reflecting on “today,” may we more fully appreciate the closing message of...
By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER
Today is the 127th anniversary of the birth of celebrated painter and printmaker, Ben Shahn, born in Kovna, Lithuania, on September 12, 1898. The artist promoted a progressive political agenda, often incorporating Hebrew calligraphy, Biblical...
By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER
Abraham is told that his descendants will be enslaved and tormented “in a land that is not theirs” for four hundred years (Genesis 15:13). The actual period of servitude was considerably shorter.
When Abraham purchases...
By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER
According to Ezekiel 8:1-2, it was on today’s date, 5 Elul (“…the fifth day of the sixth month…”) that the prophet had a wildly graphic vision of “a figure that had the appearance of fire….”...
By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER
The month of Elul begins with Rosh Chodesh this Sunday and Monday. Elul is a time of intense spiritual preparation for the High Holy Days and the new year ahead. A distinctive liturgical element of...
By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER
The olinguito “resembles a raccoon, with a teddy bear face.” An omnivorous frugivore, the typical olinguito weighs about two pounds, and is nocturnal, reclusive, and arboreal. Significantly, the olinguito was the first new mammal species...
By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER
Arthur Goldberg was born on this date, August 8, 1908, in Chicago. He traced his roots to Zenkhov, a shtetl in Ukraine. A prominent labor attorney, Goldberg served as Secretary of Labor under President Kennedy,...
By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER
The final Shabbat preceding the fast of Tishah B’Av is designated as Shabbat Chazon: “The Sabbath of Vision.” This Sabbath takes its name from the opening words of the day’s Haftarah, Chapter 1 of Isaiah:...
By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER
The Book of Eichah (Lamentations), chanted on Tishah B’Av, concludes with a particularly mournful verse: “You have indeed rejected us, bitterly raged against us” (Lam. 5:22). In his final comment on Eichah, Rashi observes: “Because...
By RABBI JOSEPH PROUSER
Today is a dark historic anniversary. On July 18, 1925 – one hundred years ago today – Adolf Hitler published “Mein Kampf” (meaning “My Struggle”), his autobiographical political manifesto. He began writing while in prison for...
