By Rabbi Rachel Esserman
We read and study the Torah each year because every year we can discover new insights or new ways to appreciate the text. Sometimes that study informs our ideas outside of the study group or synagogue. When looking at the story of Noah recently, something interestin…
By Rabbi Rachel Esserman
I originally read the phrase and thought it meant something completely different. The phrase I’m referring to is “silent quitting.” My first thought was, “Oh, people are quitting their jobs without giving notice to their employer? That’s unprofessional. T…
By Rabbi Rachel Esserman
I did two unusual things in September: for the first time in at least 40 years, I did not attend services or pray during Rosh Hashanah. I also posted about the death of a relative on Facebook, something I’ve never done before. Both of these things occurred becaus…
By Rabbi Rachel Esserman
I couldn’t believe it. That one sentence completely overthrew what I’d known as a fact since childhood. What could have caused such culture shock? It was a simple statement in the latest issue of the AARP’s magazine. I was skimming an article about dentistry …
By Rabbi Rachel Esserman
“We need to grab our piece of the pie.” That worldview suggests that there are limited resources and, if someone else gets a piece of that pie, there will be less for us. It also means that we are always in competition for every resource, and therefore we shoul…
