Here’s my article on Westwood Kehilla winning the OU grant for women’s leadership.

I’ve been hard at work on curriculum guides for Ani Ve-Ami. Will post more about them soon, IY”H.

Have a wonderful Shabbos!

My first trip to Eretz Yisrael was during the Three Weeks. I remember my first visit to the Kosel, and my impression of it as being tall yet unimposing, grand yet welcoming. It just felt right to be there, to stand there, to say the same words of prayers and Tehillim that my ancestors had said throughout history. I sensed Hashem’s presence there, and I tried to spend as much time as I could at the Kosel during our stay in Yerushalayim.

And then came the Nine Days. When I came to the Kosel I felt a difference. It was the same wall, but somehow it felt empty. The Shechina, the Divine presence, had temporarily left. And we, the visitors, were left to our own devices.

There is a story told about a Jew who asked his rabbi why G-d created atheists. The rabbi answered that we have what to learn from atheists — when they see a person in need, they don’t wait for G-d to help them, but they rush to help the person themselves.

Perhaps that is the lesson of the Nine Days and Tisha B’av. The darkness is greater than ever. Hashem has hid His face. Perhaps Hashem wants us to act as if He doesn’t exist, to take initiative, to take proactive steps to bring light into the darkness.

In the haftorah of Shabbos Chazon, which we will read this Shabbos, the prophet Yeshayahu tell us that Hashem doesn’t want our prayers or our sacrifices. He tells us, “Learn to do good. Devote yourselves to justice; Aid the wronged. Uphold the rights of the orphan; Defend the cause of the widow” (translation from Sefaria.org). Let’s forget for a moment about G-d’s presence “out there” and focus on the G-dliness within us.

That Tisha B’av, my first in Eretz Yisrael, came and went. Mashiach still didn’t come, but that feeling of Divine Presence came back to the Kosel. The darkness abated a bit. But it is still up to us to fix the wrongs, to care for the vulnerable, and to bring out that innate G-dliness that Hashem endowed each and every one of us with.

Have a wonderful, inspiring Shabbos Chazon and an easy and meaningful fast!

Two articles in Jewish Home:

THREE LOCAL INVESTORS PARTICIPATE IN WARREN BUFFETT’S ISRAEL BONDS EVENT

and

YPLA PARTNERS WITH YIEP TO OFFER COLLEGE DEGREES

Have a wonderful Shabbos!

Here’s my dvar Torah in Sasson Magazine: Parshas Pinchas: How to Merit Our Spiritual Inheritance.

And here’s a bonus addition to the dvar Torah: the Kedushas Levi on Lech Lecha explains that the children who entered the land completed the work of their fathers who left Egypt, and that’s the significance of the dead inheriting from the living.

Have a wonderful Shabbos!

My article on a very important local event:

PREVENTING ADDICTION AND OVERDOSE: ALEPH INSTITUTE AND PROJECT TIKVAH BRING THE COMMUNITY TOGETHER FOR A COMMON GOAL

Have a wonderful Shabbos!

Here are two articles:

SUPPORTING JEWISH EDUCATION FOR ALL: MORASHA HEBREW ACADEMY DINNER

and

GENETIC STUDY TARGETING THE ASHKENAZIC JEWISH POPULATION AIMS TO PREVENT CANCER

Have a wonderful Shabbos!

My Shavuos story, From Matzah to Chametz, was in last issue of Hamodia’s Inyan Magazine. (Sorry I didn’t tell you earlier — I didn’t realize it was this week.)

And my true story, about our trip to Israel last year, is in Jewish Press this week in honor of Yom Yerushalayim. In the e-edition, it’s on pages 101-102 (page 10 in the magazine supplement).

Here’s my dvar Torah on parshas Bechukosai in Sasson Magazine about the relationship between learning Torah and doing mitzvos.

Two articles in Jewish Home this week:

Lag B’Omer Unity Concert Brings Together Jewish Children throughout the Greater Los Angeles

and

The Longest Shiur: Yavneh Hebrew Academy Promotes Torah throughout the World

Also, my article about the Touro Los Angeles Open House is on page 6 of last issue of Jewish Home.

Have a wonderful Shabbos!

My story, The Greatest Crown, is in Hamodia’s Inyan Magazine this week. It’s sequel to the Rosh Chodesh story, Witness to Holiness, about a Roman ger in the times of the Beis Hamikdash. Hope you enjoy it!

My article on YU’s Giving Day was in last week’s Jewish Home, on page 6.

Have a wonderful Shabbos!

My story, To Remember the Exodus by Night, is in Hamodia’s Pesach Story Supplement. Hope you enjoy it!

Chag kasher v’sameach to everyone!