Embodied Torah

Divre Harav – February, 2026

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The Talmud defines a small town as one which has 10 people of leisure (“asara bat’lanim”) who are always available to come to shul and make a minyan. Most synagogues’ Shabbat morning minyanim rely on a core of people like this to ensure that they’ll have 10 people for a minyan every week. When I arrived in Grand Rapids 32 years ago, there was a certain group of seniors who fulfilled that function. Over the past three decades, the older generation steadily disappeared, to be replaced by new generations of active, retired, seniors. Periodically, we’ve sent our a plea for additional people to consider making a minyan commitment to keep Ahavas Israel strong. We rarely have trouble making a Shabbat morning minyan, but sometimes the minyan doesn’t arrive until a bit after we’ve started the service.

Might you be one of our bat’lanim, people of leisure, to help us keep our Shabbat morning service strong? You’d be helping facilitate several mitzvot. You’d be ensuring a minyan so we can read Torah. You’d be fulfilling the mitzvah of communal prayer and helping others fulfill their mitzvah. You’d be helping people say Kaddish, which requires a minyan. People move away, people age and can no longer easily wake up early and transport themselves to shul, and people die. So we need a steady influx of new or returning people to replenish our minyan supply.

We hope to see you on Shabbat morning!

Were you a regular part of our Shabbat service in the past, but your children grew up, you changed jobs, the pandemic changed your habits, or life got in the way? Please consider coming back. We miss you!

Aside from the obligatory nature of Jewish prayer, it has been reported by Psychology Today and CNN, the Harvard School of Public Health, and others, that regular communal prayer has a positive impact on your physical and mental heath. Living longer, reducing stress, coping with challenges better, reducing loneliness, being more optimistic, reducing blood pressure … these all correlate positively with engaging in in-person prayer regularly. And keeping your mind active and engaged with regular Torah study is good for your brain health!

Finally, let’s not forget the spiritual value of prayer. My colleague Rabbi Michael Gold wrote:

When I pray, at least ideally, I am trying to move beyond my physical self to a spiritual plane. It moves me to somewhere beyond the present space and the present moment. I am saying words that Jews are saying all over the world. I am saying words that they have said for thousands of years. I feel connected to other pray-ers in New York or South America or Israel; to Jews who said these prayers in the Polish shtetl or the medieval mystical center of Safed or the Talmudic schoolhouse of Rabbi Akiba.

Hebrew Words of the Month:

  • Minyan – A Jewish quorum of 10 adult Jews required for certain communal prayers.
  • Tefillah – prayer

Divre Harav – January, 2026

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Last month I placed a short announcement in the Voice that received only a couple of responses. I had just learned about Sapir: Ideas for a Thriving Jewish Future. It is a journal exploring the future of the American Jewish community and its intersection with cultural, social, and political issues. It is published quarterly by Maimonides Fund with Bret Stephens serving as Editor-in-Chief. Each issue contains essays on a single theme. To explore articles from the current issue or past issues or to sign up for a free print subscription, go to sapirjournal.org. Sapir provides discussion resources for what they call a Sapir salon, an informal gathering of folks interested in reading and discussion the articles. If you would like to host a Sapir salon, contact me. 

My copy of Sapir arrived in the mail today. The 165 pages of the Autumn, 2025, issue of this free publication focus is money. Publisher Mark Charendoff opens with a brief reflection in which he quotes a delightful passage of Talmud, “A person is recognized by three things — b’kiso, b’koso, uv’ka’aso – by his pocket, by his cup, and by his anger” (Eruvin 65b). Our character is defined by the way we behave when money is involved, when we are drinking, and when we are angry. There is so much to unpack in that brief alliterative teaching!

Editor-in-Chief Bret Stephens suggests that the role of Judaism is not to represent either a socialist or a capitalist economic system – Jewish sources could argue for either – but rather to provide a critique or a corrective to either system. An economy works best when society operated under conditions of social trust and collective responsibility. Religion in general, and Judaism in particular, is well-positioned to create the conditions for its adherents to thrive.

Ilana Horwitz suggests that deep connections with the Jewish community are critical to receiving support during times of crisis. Those who identify but do not affiliate do not have access to the kind of resources that those who actively participate in synagogue life enjoy.

Daniel Z. Feldman explains the Jewish concept that minted currency establishes the legitimacy of the State and they hold value because of people’s trust in the government, and wonders how crypto-currency, created because of distrust in the State, fits into this paradigm.

Avital Chizhik-Goldschmidt asks her readers to remember their best selves, what she calls their “Jerusalem selves,” to counteract the golden calves which permeate the uber-wealthly of the upper east side of New York City, where she lives and works.

Cindy Greenberg acknowledges the holiness of philanthropy, but argues that recommitting ourselves to giving time is the best way to enhance Jewish learning, strengthen Jewish connections and relations with non-Jews, and reinforce Jewish peoplehood through connections to Israel.

And that’s just part one! Each of the 16 brief essays, most of which are fewer than 10 pages, invite the reader into a conversation of Jewish values and Jewish behavior. It is thoughtful, accessible, and beautifully written. I urge you to go to sapirjournal.org and sign up for the print publication or read it online.

Hebrew Word of the Month:

  • Sapir – A saphire; in the book of Exodus, the paving stones under the feet of God.

My Fast for SNAP has Ended!

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The Senate passed a bill to fund and reopen the government, the House agreed, and the President signed it. And so my fast for SNAP has ended. I want to thank those who responded to my request to join me in this fast. 140 people signed up at the FastforSNAP.com website either to fast (if they were able) or to support the effort and take other action, for those who were not about to fast.

I have no pretentions that our fast was a factor in the minds of those Senate Democrats who negotiated separately with the Republicans and voted for a bill to restore funding to the government (for a few more months) in exchange for a promise that there will be further conversations about continuing subsidies for the Affordable Care Act. At most, I hope that those who fasted or noticed our fast also took other action to support organizations that provide food for those in need. I sent donations to Feeding America West Michigan, Mazon: A Jewish Response to Hunger, and through my discretionary fund, direct support to a number of people in need. I know others made donations or money or food to their local food pantry and also directly to those in need.

I spoke about my fast to members of my congregation and to college students and to a 3rd and 4th grade class and to my Rabbinic colleagues and to the mayor and other members of the group that initiated the fast about 10 days ago. Had I not been fasting, it is unlikely that I would have been so diligent about spreading the word about taking action to address hunger among those whose SNAP benefits were interrupted. I expect that my fast will end tomorrow or Friday. I’ll conclude the way I began, by considering the words of the prophet Isaiah:

No, this is the fast I desire:
To unlock the fetters of wickedness,
And untie the cords of the yoke
To let the oppressed go free;
To break off every yoke.
It is to share your bread with the hungry,
And to take the wretched poor into your home;
When you see the naked, to clothe him,
And not to ignore your own kin.

Isaiah 58:6-7

I think the fast that we engaged in fit Isaiah’s criteria. We connected the practice of fasting with action that addressed real human needs. To those who were moved by my action to take action yourself, thank you again. And I hope you will continue to take action. The needs about which Isaiah speaks have not gone away and are our responsibility to address.

Day Five of Fast for SNAP

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Why I will not be fasting on Shabbat but will resume on Sunday.

I take vows and promises seriously, even as I am careful not to invoke God’s name when I make a promise. So while I’ve committed to fast until SNAP benefits are restored to one out of every eight Americans, I’m also committed to my observance of Shabbat. And I don’t give up my Shabbat for anything, no matter how important, unless my violation of Shabbat directly saves someone’s life.

I don’t travel on Shabbat. I walk to synagogue on Shabbat, no matter the weather. I don’t drive to rallies on Shabbat, no matter how much I support the cause. I don’t go to weddings, no matter how much I love the couple getting married. In my life, Shabbat comes first. One of the mitzvot of Shabbat is to eat three meals – Friday evening, Shabbat afternoon, and a third meal, literally named se’udah shelisheet, third meal, before the end of Shabbat Saturday evening. A biblical fast like Yom Kippur supersedes Shabbat, while other fast days, like Tisha B’Av, are delayed until Sunday. Some fasts, like the fast of the firstborn before the Seder or the fast of Esther before Purim, are observed on Thursday so they not only don’t fall on Shabbat, but also so their observance doesn’t even infringe on the opening minutes of Shabbat Friday evening.

Therefore, my commitment to the voluntary fast for SNAP does not supersede my obligation to eat Shabbat meals. I’ll refrain from eating at Kiddush, but following services on Shabbat morning, I’ll go home and eat lunch. And then, if necessary, if our government is still closed and if full SNAP benefits are still unfunded, I’ll resume my fast on Sunday.

Please join my and sign up at FastforSNAP.com.

Mazon StopHunger

Day Four of Fast for SNAP

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Can I fast for SNAP without fasting?

If you are not able to fast for medical or other reasons, we still invite you to sign the Fast for SNAP pledge. This more people who publicly add their names at FastforSNAP.com, the greater the chance that our fast will catch the attention of our leaders in DC and remind them of their obligation to take bipartisan action to reopen the government.

You can donate to Mazon, Feeding American West Michigan, or your local food pantry. You can donate to Ahavas Israel’s Project Isaiah fund, an annual collection beginning on Yom Kippur in response to the reading from Isaiah reminding us that fasting without also feeding the hungry is an empty fast. I have sent money from this fund and my discretionary fund both to an organization supporting hunger relief and to specific individuals in the Jewish community who are in need.

Please join my and sign up at FastforSNAP.com.

Mazon StopHunger