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Jewish Journal

Connect. Inform. Inspire.

January 16, 2026

Table for Five: Vaera

Judaism, Torah /

One verse, five voices. Edited by Nina Litvak and Salvador Litvak, the Accidental Talmudist

“But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart and I will multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt.”

– Exodus 7:3

Yehudit Wolffe

Founder Bais Chana of California & KoherSofer.com

“I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and I will multiply My signs and My wonders,” reveals a profound Torah truth about resistance and revelation. Pharaoh represents the force that opposes Divine revelation. Chassidus explains that resistance itself becomes the vessel for revelation: the deeper the concealment, precisely there G-d’s miracles multiply. Opposition is not an interruption of redemption, but its catalyst. 

This reaches its fullest expression in miracles beyond nature. By hardening Pharaoh’s heart, Hashem revealed not a limited power, but Divine Essence, where light is not measured. Had Pharaoh yielded easily, the revelation would have been limited. Intensified resistance made room for a higher, essential light to emerge. 

Chassidus teaches that such higher revelations surface when darkness seems overwhelming. We saw this after the Bondi terror attack on Hanukkah. Hanukkah celebrates light that defies logic and holiness overpowering threatening evils. In our own family, this truth became personal. My granddaughter B”H emerged from the Bondi attack unharmed. Instead of retreating in fear, she and my son transformed fear into a strong light onto the nations. 

Together, they began spreading messages of love, moral clarity and guidance on Instagram @mindfulrabbi. As a result, his message reached 20 million views within two weeks, publicizing the universal values of the Seven Noachide Laws. Many emerging stories of courage from Sydney are testimony that evil revealed hidden resilience, unity, love … This is a catalyst to the Geulah, when all nations will recognize One G-d and will serve Him together in unity and peace.

Rabbi Shmuel Reichman 

Bestselling Author and International Speaker, ShmuelReichman.com

We are complicated beings, living in an exceedingly complex world. Many people become overwhelmed by these complexities of life, hiding behind simplicity. Yet, those driven by curiosity choose to embrace the complexities of this world; those striving for the truth constantly question the nature of the world we live in. 

Through the miracles and Makkos of Yetzias Mitzrayim, Hashem revealed Himself to the world. When Pharaoh hardened his heart, the laws of nature were broken, the impossible became possible, the unfathomable, fathomable. But to fully understand and appreciate the meaning of a miracle, we must first attempt to understand nature itself. 

The very idea of nature is enigmatic. After all, what do we mean when we refer to the natural? Naturally, what goes up tends to come back down. Nature also causes rainstorms, hurricanes, tornadoes and appears to be responsible for disease and illness. We tend to give nature credit for most of what happens in this world. However, any thoughtful Jew should be troubled by the concept of nature. If Hashem created this world, how are we supposed to approach nature? Is nature independent from Hashem? 

The Ramban beautifully explains that the only fundamental difference between open miracles and nature is the frequency. The miracles of Yetzias Mitzrayim occurred only once in history, while the miracles of nature occur every second. Let us be inspired to see past the mask of nature, to find Hashem in every aspect of our lives, and to recognize the miraculous within the natural.

Rabbi Johnny Solomon 

Spiritual Coach, #theVirtualRabbi at WebYeshiva.org

The Bible uses a range of names to describe God, with each focusing on a different aspect of God’s essence. Specifically, the two names that are most often used for God are Elohim — which conveys God’s power — and the Tetragrammaton – which conveys God’s mercy. 

When God gave the Jewish people the Torah, God became known as both a God of power and a God of mercy, and though there were other nations who knew of God, they only acknowledged God’s power but they did not acknowledge God’s mercy. This fact is evident in the exchange between Moshe, Aaron & Pharaoh where Moshe & Aaron use both names of God (see Shemot 5:1), to which Pharaoh replies by asking, “Who is this God (using the Tetragrammaton) that I should obey Him? … I do not know this God (using the Tetragrammaton)!” (ibid. 5:2). As Rabbi Abraham Saba explains (in his Tzror HaMor commentary), Pharoh recognized that there was a God, but he denied the merciful aspect of God. 

This now brings us to our verse (Shemot 7:3) which seemingly informs us that God intended to harden Pharoh’s heart. But if we pay close attention, we see that the name of God that is used in this verse is the Tetragrammaton. Accordingly, Rabbi Saba explains that rather than God actively hardening Pharaoh’s heart, by denying God’s merciful dimension, Pharaoh’s heart became more hardened. From here we learn that when we fail to recognize grace and mercy, our hearts become hardened.

Elan Javanfard

LMFT, Professor & Author, “Psycho-Spiritual Insights” Blog

At first glance, this verse is unsettling. If Hashem hardened Pharaoh’s heart, where was his free will? Rashi, Ramban and Chizkuni offer a striking answer that aligns closely with modern psychology: free will is not a fixed trait. It is a capacity that can be strengthened or weakened over time. 

In the first plagues, Pharaoh hardens his own heart. He repeatedly ignores suffering, rationalizes cruelty and refuses to change. Psychology tells us that repeated behavior creates patterns. Each choice reinforces the next. Over time, flexibility shrinks. What once felt like a choice becomes a reflex. 

Only later does the Torah say that Hashem hardens Pharaoh’s heart, not as punishment alone, but as consequence. Pharaoh has so consistently resisted moral awareness that he can no longer access it. Even when he considers letting the people go, it is not out of values or responsibility, but simply to stop the pain. Change motivated only by relief rarely lasts. 

The Torah is teaching a sobering truth: we do not lose freedom suddenly; we erode it gradually. When we ignore conscience, dismiss feedback or justify harmful patterns, we make future change harder. The hopeful side is equally powerful. Every small act of integrity, accountability and courage strengthens our capacity to choose again. The heart is not just hardened. It is shaped. The question Pharaoh leaves us with is not: Do I have free will? It is: What kind of heart am I shaping through my choices?

Michael Milgraum

Psychologist and Author 

On this parsha Rashi comments that Hashem has the following intention when making this decree: Pharaoh acted wickedly and defied Hashem; since there is no delight among the nations to repent wholeheartedly, it is better for Hashem that Pharaoh’s heart be hardened, so that Hashem can increase His signs and wonders and Israel should hear and fear. 

Rashi’s thought is such a powerful statement of Hashem’s awesome and overarching power in all that we experience in the world. It is not accurate to say that Hashem’s power overrides human free will. Rather, His power coexists with human choices, so that, regardless of the choices made, Hashem’s ultimate designs will be accomplished. Rashi himself notes that the Torah does not initially say that Hashem hardened Pharaoh’s heart, but that, during the first five plagues, Pharaoh strengthened his own heart, that is, he steeled himself to keep up his defiance of Moshe, despite the plagues. This was a free choice on the part of Pharaoh, which showed Hashem how much Pharaoh did not delight in wholehearted repentance. 

Did this thwart Hashem’s design? Not at all. Hashem’s design was to magnify His glory and increase Israel’s awe towards him. This design could be accomplished by all peoples wholeheartedly revering Hashem, but there were other ways to accomplish this goal. It was in the midst of darkness and destruction for Pharaoh and the Egyptians and in the glorious protection of Israel, His holy servants, that Hashem’s awesomeness was magnified in the world.

Table for Five: Vaera Read More »

In Iran, Unlimited Courage Confronts Unlimited Cruelty

Editor's Note /

Suddenly, it looks like it’s over.

The butchers of Tehran are winning.

The uprising that “felt different this time,” with millions of courageous Iranians marching for their freedom and an end to their oppression, feels like a memory.

As The New York Times reported on Friday: “A heavy police presence and deadly crackdowns on protesters appeared to have largely suppressed demonstrations in many cities and towns across Iran, according to several witnesses and a human rights group.”

Similarly, Reuters reported: “Iran’s deadly crackdown appears to have broadly quelled protests for now, according to a rights group and residents. With information flows from Iran obstructed by an internet blackout, several residents of Tehran said the capital had been quiet since Sunday. They said drones were flying over the city, where they’d seen no sign of protests on Thursday or Friday.”

Only a few days ago, with loud support from President Trump, there was still hope that these protests might finally break through and end the theocratic nightmare that has bedeviled Iranians since the mullahs took over in 1979.

Just a week ago, the president warned, “If they start killing people, which they tend to do during their riots, we’re going to hit them very hard.” Earlier this week, he urged the Iranian protesters to keep at it, declaring, “Save the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a big price. . . HELP IS ON ITS WAY.”

And then, Wednesday afternoon, seemingly out of nowhere, Trump said he had been reliably informed that the Iranian mullahs were no longer killing people. In a follow-up post on Truth Social on Friday, he went as far as thanking Iran for cancelling over 800 executions scheduled for Thursday.

“I greatly respect the fact that all scheduled hangings which were to take place yesterday (over 800 of them) have been cancelled by the leadership of Iran. Thank you!” Trump wrote. And on Thursday, Steve Witkoff, his special envoy to the Middle East, talked about a “diplomatic path” with Tehran.

It was a cold, freezing shower on the dreams of millions of Iranians and freedom lovers everywhere, and a reminder of how the wily mullahs can run circles around Westerners.

Of course, with Trump one never knows. It’s always possible that he is playing a ruse to catch the mullahs off guard, as he did with his bombing of nuclear facilities in June. That is the protesters’ last hope.

Of course, with Trump one never knows. It’s always possible that he is playing a ruse to catch the mullahs off guard, as he did with his bombing of nuclear facilities in June. That is the protesters’ last hope.

In truth, the odds of unarmed protesters, even millions of them, prevailing over a ruthless regime were always slim.

One reality that has been underreported since the beginning of the uprising is the extraordinary power of the Revolutionary Guards. This is not just a police force—it’s an economic powerhouse that controls large swaths of Iran’s economy.

According to press reports, the 2025 state budget allocates roughly six billion dollars a year to the Guards and their six branches – nearly double the army’s budget. As Fox News reports, “No institutions matter more right now than the Revolutionary Guards and its paramilitary arm, the Basij… a nationwide population-control and internal surveillance network.”

In other words, the protesters marching on the streets of Iran were up against a formidable and ubiquitous force that has shown unlimited cruelty to crush the uprising.

Unlimited courage on one side, unlimited cruelty on the other.

This is why so many hopes rested on America and President Trump. Unlike past presidents, Trump came down clearly on the side of the Iranian people. This was his moment of truth, when he could change history by taking down the world’s #1 sponsor of terror and a mortal enemy of everything the West stands for.

“For 46 years, the Revolutionary Islamic Government has tortured the people of Iran. From the moment that the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned from exile in Paris, he managed to propel one of the world’s great cultures into a new Dark Age,” Douglas Murray writes in The New York Post. “Since 1979, that regime has slaughtered and executed its domestic political opponents. It has publicly hanged people convicted of ‘crimes against morality,’ including people convicted for the ‘crime’ of being gay. It has sponsored terrorism across the Middle East, Europe and America. The regime has been the biggest colonizing, imperialist power in the Middle East.”

This was Trump’s moment to help free a people craving its liberation from these religious despots.

Taking down an evil regime, of course, is hardly a guarantee of liberation. Revolutions are messy. A new leader needs moral authority and the trust of both the people and the army. It’s an uphill climb at best.

But for people who have been suffocating for so long under the thumb of theocratic zealots, with an economy in ruins, regime change is a gamble they’re willing to take.

Here in Los Angeles, where for the past three weeks the large Persian community has been following the news by the minute, it’s a disheartening time. After so many failed protests in the past, many felt that this uprising might be a breakthrough. It was impossible not to be moved by images of millions of Iranians bravely confronting a heartless regime, being massacred by the thousands, and still marching. Many are still clinging to hope that events may yet break their way.

In the meantime, if there’s any lesson to take from this moment, it is a reminder of the unlimited value of freedom.

The butchers of Tehran love their own freedom to be butchers. What they can’t seem to stomach is to give their people the same freedom to be human.

Update: In a Saturday interview with Politico, President Trump, after being read a series of hostile X posts from Iran’s supreme leader, said that “the ayatollah is guilty of the complete destruction of his country” and “it’s time to look for new leadership in Iran.”

In Iran, Unlimited Courage Confronts Unlimited Cruelty Read More »

When Tragedy Strikes, Chai Lifeline’s Rabbi Dr. Dovid Fox Is There to Help

Community /

In 2019, when three people were killed at a kosher market in Jersey City, New Jersey, Chai Lifeline showed up to offer support.

Then, just two years later, after the Surfside condominium collapsed, and 98 people died, Chai Lifeline trained clinicians on how to offer trauma therapy for members of the community.

And after October 7 happened, the organization set up a crisis hotline for Israelis – and anyone else affected by the tragedy – with team members working nonstop around the world.

Rabbi Dr. Dovid Fox, director of crisis intervention, trauma, and bereavement support services for Chai Lifeline International, created these programs to lend a hand to the Jewish community when they need it the most. Fox is a forensic and clinical psychologist and serves as the rabbi of the early minyan at Young Israel of Hancock Park; he has been working with the non-profit for 22 years.

According to Fox, Rabbi Simcha Scholar, CEO of Chai Lifeline, gave him “free reign to develop within Chai Lifeline first response intervention as well as education and trainings for crisis management, which is not for victims or survivors but for schools, the workplace, or the broader community where there has been a tragedy.”

Born in Massachusetts and raised in Los Angeles, Fox is a longtime psychologist who runs a fulltime practice and has been on the faculty of the University of Southern California and California School of Professional Psychology. He also worked as the Associate Clinical Professor at Loma Linda University School of Medicine. He became a psychologist after receiving his first rabbinic ordination in his twenties.

“I enjoy teaching and working with people,” he said. “When I was a rabbinic student, I was playing both of those roles and very interested in counseling and guidance. My late father was a highly accomplished child psychologist in the Jewish world.”

Fox works at his practice, teaches, runs the Chai Lifeline crisis program, and is a dayan in Israel; he travels there to serve on the beit din and help make rulings on religious issues. Additionally, he travels all around the world for Chai Lifeline doing catastrophic trauma trainings to staff in Europe, South America, England, and across North America. When tragedy strikes, the team will go to the site, provide virtual help, or both.

“Once we determine where a tragedy took place, we also determine with whomever is calling how many people have been affected,” said Fox. “We then send out a crisis team and provide face to face intervention.”

The rabbi’s goal is to make sure that Chai Lifeline is there to assist in any way possible.

“I want there to be highly competent, trained interventionists who can be there for their communities.”

“I want there to be highly competent, trained interventionists who can be there for their communities, whether it’s a homicide, assault, pandemic, or another situation,” Fox said. “This is something we need to continue, certainly within the Jewish world and the Orthodox world too. There are many situations where victims need someone who understands their life, world, and culture. For that reason, much of our training is focused on recruiting Jewish volunteers.”

Going forward, Fox is excited to do this work and fulfill his mission to serve others.

He said, “I will continue doing that as long as God spares me.”

When Tragedy Strikes, Chai Lifeline’s Rabbi Dr. Dovid Fox Is There to Help Read More »

Rabbis of LA | On Passing a Torch

Rabbis of LA /

As Valley Beth Shalom celebrates the 100th anniversary of Rabbi Harold Schulweis’ birth (and the 20th year since Rabbi Ed Feinstein was named Sr. Rabbi), Feinstein looked back at the more than 55 years he knew Schulweis.

“It’s easy for us to talk about him as rabbi and talk about him as an intellectual, as a philosopher and as an author,” Feinstein said. But “people should know the kind of human being he was: very gentle. We were close. I went with him to a number of events. He was quite sensitive. You think of him as a powerful orator and a very public person.”

To make sure that Rabbi Schulweis would not vanish into history, Rabbi Feinstein arranged for a videographer friend to assist with 11 hours of face-to-face interviews. “I didn’t want to lose Harold’s voice,” he said. “I wanted to make sure that if one day scholars decided to come and recover Schulweis’ voice, they would have it – on video. And now it’s up online.”

Just as important, when Schulweis became very ill Feinstein knew he would have his records – his files and his letters. Not only that, but in addition to his written material, he would have his own memories of him. “Then I did more research – as you always do,” Feinstein said. Looking at the Bronx-born Schulweis’ pre-Valley Beth Shalom career, he discovered Schulweis had served on only one other pulpit, at Temple Beth Abraham in Oakland, where he enjoyed an 18-year run before devoting his 44 years to VBS in Encino. “It turns out,” Rabbi Feinstein said, “there still are folks in Oakland who remember Harold. I went up there and spent an afternoon interviewing these people. I also searched through the archives of Temple Beth Abraham to make sure I had the material I needed from that part of his life. I spent a lot of time with his wife Malka, Of Blessed Memory. She was a marvelous soul in her own right. And I spoke with others who knew him and worked with him.” Feinstein’s research, in pursuit of a doctorate, turned into a 2020 book, “In Pursuit of Godliness and a Living Judaism: The Life and Thought of Rabbi Harold M. Schulweis.”

The hard part for Feinstein was, “how do you take something as big and complicated as a whole life and find a structure to share it? I think I found it. Someday,” he predicted with a smile, “it will be a movie.” 

Feinstein wanted to share “a deeply, deeply sensitive side to this soul.” One morning he and Schulweis were doing a service after a tragedy in the community. Someone had lost a baby shortly after birth. When Feinstein went to help Harold with the service, Schulweis couldn’t do it. He got choked up.

“Harold turned to me in the middle of the service,” said Feinstein. “He said ‘Finish it for me.’ He was a person of such sensitivity. When he spoke of the moral truth of the Jewish tradition, that was him, really him. He really felt himself obligated, and he was so compassionate. He would say, ‘Our compassion is how God touches the world.’”

One of Schulweis’ favorite phrases was, “We are the eyes, we are the hands of God.” 

Working beside Schulweis, Feinstein observed daily evidence that the older rabbi walked the walk. “He really did,” Feinstein said. “There was a gentleness, a kindness about him. When I began talking to people, they told me stories. One fellow recalled being a high school kid and part of a 10-student Wednesday night class.” The student told him that one Halloween night, he was the only one who showed up. “He said that Rabbi Schulweis sat with him for an hour-and a half. There was a sensitivity to Harold that not many people saw. This is the kind of human being he was.”

One thing he couldn’t do, Feinstein said, was make small talk. “You would go to lunch with him and try to talk about  sports, politics. He couldn’t do it. Schmoozing wasn’t his way. He would say, ‘Have you read Martin Buber?’ He would tell you about plays he saw or stories he had read in The New York Times. There was no superficiality about him. All very real. Schmoozing wasn’t him.”

Feinstein marveled at how seamlessly the Bronx native had adapted to Southern California. “Harold loved it here,” he said. “He told me ‘Here there is an atmosphere of openness to the new.’ There is something about being in the sunshine on the edge of the continent that gives you a chance to experiment. He felt many other communities were too conservative.” Feinstein still speaks of Schulweis reverently. “We became very close,” he said, but it took 10 years before he could call him Harold.

When Schulweis grew older and his energy began to flag, he turned over to Feinstein parts of the operation of the congregation. Then one day in 2005, Feinstein said, “he came into the office as he always did, and he said ‘We’re switching jobs.’ I said to him, ‘Harold, I’m really busy today. Don’t mess with me.’’ He said ‘No, no, we’re switching jobs. I am going to the board tonight and telling them.’” 

Feinstein thought Schulweis was kidding. Feinstein indeed was too busy to go to that night’s board meeting. Then next day the president of the synagogue came to Feinstein’s office with a confirming announcement. “Harold told us you are the senior rabbi of the congregation and he’s now the junior rabbi,” the president said. 

“You are kidding,” Feinstein replied. 

Later when Schulweis came to the office, his still stunned deputy bluntly asked, “What the hell did you do?” Just as bluntly, Schulweis replied: “I told you that we are switching jobs. You’ve been running the place. You know how to do it. I will work for you. You’ve been here a dozen years.”

Feinstein knew exactly what his erstwhile boss meant. “Harold had all this energy, all this vision, all this power but he needed to know where to put it,” Feinstein reflected. “I became sort of his agent, his manager, and I would deploy him.”

The trade of duties took place. “I would say ‘Harold, there is a havurah that needs to talk to you,” Feinstein said. “Or ‘there’s a group of kids who need to talk to you. There’s a lecture series I want to do with you.’ We were partners, of course, and I never stopped revering him. He wanted me to place him in circumstances where he could do what he did so well, to teach and to inspire.”

That was how the Feinstein-Schulweis office operated for nine years.

“We worked like that until two weeks before Harold passed away,” on Dec. 18, 2014, Feinstein said. “Even at that point, he still was saying ‘This is what we have to do. Let’s try this’ – speaking with almost blinding rapidity. He also was very, very frail, of course.

Even though the elder rabbi was 89 years old and had survived three heart attacks, he was so alive, the 71-year-old Feinstein said. “I inherited my vigor and my sense of urgency from him. That is what keeps me going.”

And history would seem to be repeating itself. In 2024, Feinstein realized the congregation needed younger leadership. His reward would be that “I’d get to do the things I love to do, primarily a lot of teaching, whatever people want to learn – Torah, prayer, philosophy, Zionism, for kids and for grownups. See, I am a teacher by temperament.”

When he stepped aside, Rabbi Nolan Lebovitz from Adat Shalom succeeded Feinstein at VBS. “I am lucky,” Feinstein said, “because I have a community that likes what I like to do. Harold created an environment, and I got to step right into those shoes.” 

Rabbis of LA | On Passing a Torch Read More »

LA Jewish Film Fest Screening, Repair the World Shabbaton, LA Federation Names Chair

Movers & Shakers /

The Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival drew a full house at the Laemmle Town Center in Encino for a sold-out screening of the acclaimed Yiddish-language drama “SHTTL,” the story of a Yiddish Ukrainian village at the border of Poland, 24 hours before the Nazi invasion.

The Jan. 7 event at the Laemmle was made even more special by a rare in-person appearance from distinguished Canadian actor Saul Rubinek (“Hunters”), who plays the rabbi, and a lively post-screening Q-and-A featuring Rubinek alongside noted Holocaust historian Michael Berenbaum, a professor and scholar from American Jewish University.

The L.A. Jewish Film Festival—which aims to celebrate the Jewish experience through film—holds monthly screenings in addition to the annual week-long festival in May.

Volunteers convened by Jewish social action group Repair the World come together at a Shabbaton to support wildfire recovery. Courtesy of Repair the World

Repair the World Los Angeles partnered with Mem Global and Adamah on Campus during their recent Shabbaton, bringing together 45 young adults to support individuals recovering from the recent California wildfires. Together, volunteers packed and decorated over 100 home care kits, wrote 75 encouragement cards and reflected on our Jewish values and communal responsibilities. The care kits were donated to the Disaster Recovery for Survivors of LA Fires Program through A Sense of Home. The critical service-learning alongside local partners highlights the Jewish service movement in action, rebuilding and responding to urgent local needs.

A Repair the World organizer leads a session focused on wildfire recovery efforts. Courtesy of Repair the World

The Shabbaton was held approximately one month before the one-year anniversary of the Palisades and Eaton Fires. Since those devastating fires, Repair the World—which mobilizes Jews and their communities to take action to pursue a just world—has activated volunteers at scale to listen, serve and support rebuilding efforts.

L.A. Federation Board Chair Daniel Gryczman. Courtesy of Jewish Federation Los Angeles

Jewish Federation Los Angeles has named Daniel Gryczman chair of its board of directors.

Gryczman’s three-year term began Jan. 1. He succeeds Orna Wolens, “who leaves a legacy of transformational growth and capable crisis leadership,” according to Jewish Federation Los Angeles.

Gryczman is a lifelong Angeleno and Jewish community leader whose four grandparents were Holocaust survivors. This profoundly shaped his outlook, values and commitment to the future of the Jewish people, according to the L.A. Federation.

A former judicial law clerk at the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and a guest lecturer in real estate development and land use at UCLA Law School, Gryczman and his wife, Joelle, have three kids—two daughters and a son.

He previously played a role in developing the L.A. Federation’s strategy over many years, guiding several areas including strategic planning, distribution, community engagement and Israel. A primary focus of his term “will be uplifting other Jewish community leaders and partners whose work makes Jewish Los Angeles flourish,” the L.A. Federation said. “He is committed to spotlighting board members, community leaders, JFEDLA staff and JFEDLA partners who serve behind the scenes, ensuring that their contributions, accomplishments, and impact receive broader understanding across the community.”

L.A Federation CEO Rabbi Noah Farkas said Gryczman was a “man of great compassion and wisdom, who believes, as I do, that our community is at its best when we move forward as one. His love for Jewish life is palpable. He expresses that love through the thoughtful action he takes to help Jews in need, protect Jewish institutions and create Jewish joy. Jewish Los Angeles is fortunate to have Daniel stepping into this role.”

LA Jewish Film Fest Screening, Repair the World Shabbaton, LA Federation Names Chair Read More »

The Jewish Spirit in the Age of Mamdani

Judaism /

Two weeks ago I had an animated discussion with Zev Brenner on his radio show. It was January 1st, and I had just returned home from a vigil outside the Mamdani inauguration.

Rabbi Avi Weiss and I had stood outside ‌the inauguration in the freezing cold, along with a small group of diehard activists, waving American and Israeli flags and singing inspirational songs. We came to demonstrate that our community will stand with Israel no matter what.

Zev started the interview by asking about Mamdani’s election; he probably expected a fiery response.

But I went in the other direction. I explained that it’s time to pivot. We should not turn the Jewish community into a full-time resistance to Mamdani.

Zev, who is a dear friend, did what any good interviewer should: he pushed back. What followed was a spirited dialogue.

I explained that, of course, we must stand up and protest when the circumstances call for it. I pointed out that I had just spent an entire year working tirelessly to prevent Mamdani from being elected, and had spent much of that day demonstrating outside his inauguration. But Mamdani was elected; we can’t change that now. We now need to focus on building our community.

In the last decade, a significant number of Democrats, and now Republicans, have moved away from supporting Israel. It is a disturbing turn of events for our community, which has always seen itself as part of the mainstream of American politics.

In response, many people have chosen to engage in political primal scream therapy. Each day is a day of angry reactions, posting on social media and sending furious emails to friends.

This is a tragic mistake. An identity of reaction is an empty one. As the Kotzer Rebbe famously said:

If I am I because I am I, and you are you because you are you, then I am I and you are you. But if I am I because you are you, and you are you because I am I, then I am not I and you are not you.

This saying is quite profound, even if it is a bit convoluted. You have to be you based on your own inner understanding; your identity should reflect your unique spirit. The moment you base your identity ‌on what someone else thinks is the moment you have lost a bit of your soul.

This is certainly true if you slavishly imitate the other person. But it is also true if all you do is oppose the other person. To fixate constantly on your enemies is to lose a bit of your soul; you are in danger of becoming the sort of person who believes, “I am I because you are you.”

We must not let our circumstances narrow our spirits.

At the beginning of Parashat Vaera, Moses brings to the Jews a powerful vision of redemption. But their reaction is apathetic, and, “They did not heed Moses, because of shortness of spirit and cruel bondage.”

There are many interpretations of ‌the Hebrew words kotzer ruach. It literally means shortness of breath; but the word ruach can also refer to one’s spirit.

Many commentaries offer a straightforward interpretation; the Jews in Egypt were so overwhelmed they could not accept Moses’ message of hope. The arduous labor they performed left them literally short of breath.

This makes sense. The slaves ignored Moses because they didn’t have the patience for optimistic speeches.

But others take a more critical view. Seforno writes that “the Jews did not prepare their hearts and spirits for this knowledge and for this belief.” The Ohr HaChaim takes this idea further and says that “perhaps because they were not people of Torah, they did not listen; and this is what is called shortness of spirit, for the Torah broadens a person’s heart.”

The Jewish slaves ignored Moses because they were spiritually flawed, lacking in faith and wisdom.

I used to dislike these interpretations; it feels like these commentaries are blaming the slaves. What type of spirituality can one expect from a person mired in misery?

But in their harsh judgement, the Seforno and the Ohr HaChaim demand more from us. They say that there are no excuses; yes, we must open our hearts, even in the most difficult of times. Actually, that is when we need spirituality the most.

And that is what I was trying to convey in my interview; we are in danger of becoming a community that is short of spirit, so absorbed in fighting we forget what we are fighting for.

Right now we need to take stock of our spirit. We need to go back to the basics, and embrace the foundational values that have allowed our community to survive and thrive for three millennia.

I write the following in the spirit of Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto. In the introduction to his classic work Mesilat Yesharim, he writes that:

I have written this work not to teach men what they do not know, but to remind them of what they already know and is very evident to them, .. But to the extent that they are well known and their truths revealed to all, so is forgetfulness in relation to them extremely prevalent.

We know all the obvious lessons. But sometimes they’re so obvious we overlook them. So they need to be repeated. And as we enter the era of Mamdani, we need to repeat the lessons of 3,000 years of Jewish history:

STAND WITH PRIDE. All too often, it feels like being a visible Jew is a liability. But it would be devastating for our community to be driven underground, afraid to take its rightful place in the public square. So, don’t hide being Jewish. Do more Jewish activities, from synagogue to studying Talmud to taking JCC yoga classes. Become an activist.

STAND TOGETHER. It has been an awful two years. Unfortunately, in their frustration, Jews all too often attack other Jews they think are too “soft.” Social media posts feature harangues against Jewish leaders for “not doing enough.” That only weakens our community. Stop fighting other Jews. More importantly, reach out to Jews who are different than you and make them your friends.

STAY STRATEGIC. This is not a time for people to sit around on the couch and vent their anger. We need to get things done by organizing for the next election, building an activist network, and recruiting members of our community to run for office. We need to register to vote, and get our friends to register. We need to focus on winning, not complain about losing.

PUT HOPE FIRST. The Jewish people have been around for over 3,000 years. We have overcome tremendous challenges again and again. We will certainly overcome this.

Even if the slaves didn’t listen to Moses’ vision of redemption, we remember it at the Passover Seder. It has inspired the Jewish spirit in good times and bad.

And we need to remember Moses’ vision now. Mayors come and go, but the Jewish people will continue onward.

Am Yisrael Chai!

Rabbi Chaim Steinmetz is the Senior Rabbi of Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun in New York.  

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Sailing French Polynesia with Windstar Cruises: A Return to Tahiti and Life at Sea

Blogs, Commentary, Lifestyle, Travel /

French Polynesia has a way of imprinting itself on you. The colors linger. The calm stays with you. And even after decades of travel to more than 100 countries, this part of the world still feels singular.

Sailing with Windstar Cruises through Tahiti and the Society Islands was an entirely different experience from my earlier time here. Star Breeze is intimate, elegant, and deeply connected to the destination. From the moment I stepped onboard, I felt it: this wasn’t about rushing. It was about presence.

Life Onboard: All-Suite Ease & Ocean Living

Every guest onboard Star Breeze stays in a suite — a detail that quietly changes everything. My suite was spacious and calming, with thoughtful design, a generous sitting area, and reusable water bottles filled from the ship’s advanced filtration system (Windstar eliminates single-use plastic onboard).

What I loved most was how easy it felt to live with the ocean. The Marina is one of Windstar Cruises’ signature features, and when conditions allow, it opens directly off the back of the ship. Swimming, paddleboarding, kayaking — even just floating — happens right from the yacht.

The Food: James Beard Excellence at Sea

Windstar Cruises is the only cruise line officially partnered with the James Beard Foundation, and the culinary experience onboard reflects that commitment from morning to night.

Dinner is served every evening in Amphora, the ship’s main dining room, where menus rotate and local influences shine. Two specialty restaurants elevate the experience even further.

Candles, the onboard steakhouse, transforms from Veranda — the open, casual venue for breakfast and lunch — into an intimate dinner spot with perfectly prepared steaks and seafood.

But the standout for me was Basil + Bamboo, a newer concept rolling out across the Windstar fleet. This Asian-inspired restaurant felt fresh, creative, and completely at home in the South Pacific. The flavors were vibrant, the presentation thoughtful, and it quickly became one of my favorite dining experiences onboard.

Islands That Stay With You

Our itinerary included Tahiti, Moorea, Raiatea, Taha’a and Bora Bora, and each island offered its own rhythm and beauty.

Moorea’s dramatic peaks rise sharply from the sea. Raiatea feels deeply spiritual and grounded. Bora Bora — iconic for a reason — still takes your breath away with its lagoon, no matter how many times you’ve seen it.

Beneath the Surface: Why I Came Back

One of the reasons I first worked at sea was simple: I wanted to dive. Returning to French Polynesia with Windstar Cruises brought that full circle. In Papeete, I went scuba diving with Fluid Tahiti, descending into warm, clear water where coral gardens unfurled below me in layers of color and movement. At the Spring and Pitons, two incredible dive sites, we saw many sharks, schools of fish, giant turtles cruised by with quiet confidence, and that deep Pacific blue that makes your heart race in the best way. The lagoons here aren’t just beautiful; they’re alive, immersive, and endlessly humbling.

Islands That Invite You In

Each port offered a different way to connect. In Raiatea, I learned about the island’s renowned pearl farming — from oyster to iridescent gem — gaining a new appreciation for the patience and craftsmanship behind Tahitian pearls. On Huahine and Bora Bora, I saw manta rays gliding effortlessly below me, over 40 eagle rays passing in formation, and sting rays and black tip reef sharks up close. Windstar Cruises’ small-ship approach meant days felt expansive rather than rushed, whether swimming straight from the Marina, stepping onto a tender for a motu lunch, or simply floating above the reef watching the light shift. These islands don’t ask to be conquered; they invite you to slow down, look closer, and stay curious.

One unforgettable highlight was the Destination Discovery Event: Feast & Fire, Windstar Cruises’ Bora Bora experience. Guests sail by catamaran to a private motu at sunset, were welcomed with leis by Captain Roman Krstanovic and Hotel General Manager Iulian Petrasuc and enjoy a lavish dinner under the stars, followed by a powerful Polynesian dance and fire performance. It was immersive, celebratory, and deeply connected to place.

The People Make the Voyage

What truly defines Windstar Cruises is its people. Early in the voyage, both the Captain and Hotel Manager welcomed guests personally — a tone that carried throughout the journey. There’s also Open Bridge access, allowing guests to visit the bridge, talk with officers, and learn more about navigation and life at sea. As someone who once worked onboard ships, this meant a great deal to me.

And added into the ship’s library? A signed copy of Brave-ish. When the Captain told me he planned to read it, it felt quietly full-circle — a reminder that every journey builds on the ones before it.

Before & After the Cruise: Staying in Tahiti

Before sailing, I stayed at the InterContinental Tahiti Resort & Spa, just minutes from the airport — an ideal place to ease into island time. The overwater bungalows are a bucket-list dream, with your private platform to the sea, lagoon views, and sunsets that don’t feel real.

The Journey Begins in the Air

Flying from Los Angeles on Air Tahiti Nui made getting here easier than ever. The direct flight to Papeete takes about 8.5 hours, and the time difference is just two hours from LA this time of year — the same as Hawaii. The vacation truly starts onboard, with warm service, comfortable seating options, and a relaxed Polynesian spirit from the moment you board.

Coming Back Changed

Returning to French Polynesia wasn’t about recreating the past. It was about honoring it — and seeing how much I’ve grown. This voyage reminded me why I fell in love with travel in the first place: discovery, connection, courage, and the joy of returning — wiser, calmer, and still curious. Some places stay with you forever. And if you’re lucky, you get to go back.

Watch all my videos from this adventure:

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A Bisl Torah – Vaera: When Patience Is Not a Virtue

A Bisl Torah /

Rabbi Guzik is on sabbatical. Please enjoy A Bisl Torah from our Rabbinic Intern, Moe Howard.

Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO and National Director of the Anti-Defamation League, addressed our Sinai Temple congregation last Shabbat. The “torrent” of antisemitic hate, he said, is alarming in its pervasiveness, touching every corner of our lives. “Perhaps what’s most terrifying, most shocking,” he admitted, “is the fact that we’ve almost become numb to it.”

That we are inured to the rising tide of antisemitism is dismaying—but it isn’t shocking. It’s a story as old as our people. “Say to the Israelites,” God tells Moses: “I will free you from the burdens of the Egyptians and deliver you from their bondage” (Exodus 6:6). The word for “burdens,” sivlot, is related to the word sovlanut, “tolerance.” Their tolerance of the suffering inflicted upon them, teaches Rabbi Simcha Bunim, was the Israelites’ true burden. They had grown so accustomed to a reality of blame, shame, and fear that they came to see it as normal.

It is not normal, God said, to be enslaved. Nor is it normal, said Jonathan Greenblatt, to be harassed, intimidated, and assaulted on campus, in the synagogue, or at the beach. We must fight this new status quo with our voices, our votes, and our values—but first we must fight the inclination within ourselves to remain indifferent.

It was when the Israelites were no longer willing to bear their burdens that redemption was soon at hand. How long are we willing to bear our own?

Shabbat Shalom.

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