mstreiffer

Techno-Judaism

Earlier this week, I taught a Confirmation class in North Carolina…. while sitting in Canada. I used to be a rabbi in Charlotte. Now I’m a rabbi outside Toronto. So when the Confirmation teachers in Charlotte asked me to Skype with their class, I was excited to see some former students. But it wasn’t justContinueContinue reading “Techno-Judaism”

T’fillah – Like Child’s Play

If there is anything that the URJ Biennial is known for (other than Obama, this year), it is the Shabbat services. Services at the Biennial tend to be big, musical, and highly orchestrated. The key word there is BIG – it’s hard to be anything but, when you have 5000 people in the room! ThisContinueContinue reading “T’fillah – Like Child’s Play”

Gilad and Marla

The Lord giveth. The Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. – Job 1:21 Five years ago, on June 25, 2006, Gilad Shalit was abducted by Hamas terrorists near the Gaza border. Four years earlier, on July 31, 2002, my friend Marla Bennett – along with eight others – was murdered inContinueContinue reading “Gilad and Marla”

Sukkot: Measuring the Years

Sukkot is the strangest holiday we have, and it has the strangest rituals. It’s one thing to sit around the table and eat and sing (like we do on every holiday). It’s quite another thing to build a shack in the back yard and wave around a bunch of plants in all directions. What’s thatContinueContinue reading “Sukkot: Measuring the Years”