HEBREW TEXTS  .  HEBREW LANGUAGE  .  JUDAISM

“They are four days in the year that serve as the New Year, each for a different purpose: On the first of Nisan is the New Year for kings; it is from this date that the years of a king’s rule are counted.”

As I write this, some days ago Argentina became the world champion for the third time in the history of the World Cup of Football (soccer, for some).

We have known one another for more than a year now and I have never told you who I am or why I decided to be a Rabbi.

I grew up in the Bet El Community of Buenos Aires, Argentina. My family was not religious, but traditionalist. We went to Temple sometimes and gathered for the holidays; we paid our annual fee to attend Rosh haShanah and Yom Kippur tefilot (services).

Is Judaism "abortionist?"

A question that may bother many. A sensitive issue that divides societies and, in American society, it seems to have suffered a setback.

When I was a child I was lucky enough to learn Hebrew and Judaism in a way that I only understood when I became an adult. The Hebrew Language was so effective and imperceptible it was getting through the pores of my skin and reached my bones.

We are going through the month of Elul and obviously we find ourselves again after a year in the same place of scrutinizing our interior, our actions during the past year, and we return to prepare ourselves to face the divine court for the burden of our actions. The good and bad, both that are tipping the balance.

In our Temple affiliation, we rarely find ourselves faced with the situation of choosing which Movement within Judaism we identify with. Normally, we go to the synagogue where our parents attended or we pick the one we feel our children will be most comfortable in because more children or school friends already belong to it.

We have a world already prepared to prolong the useful life of each person and the average life expectancy. Life expectancy is growing at unimaginable rates in a world in which we are probably not prepared to sustain an average 120-year-old humanity as an auguram in the near future.

In our tradition, in the Torah, we have a variety of stories of anger, reconciliation, encounters and disagreements.

First of all, I want to thank you ALL. It was really wonderful for me to feel how each and every one of you has received me in the community. I would have to mention a lot of people, but I choose to thank Rabbi Gerstein and Aliza, Mundy and Stan, Julie, Mark, Elliott, Cantor Socolof, Cantor Fader and especially Marsha. They have made my reception in Utica and the community really warm. With the collaboration and presence of all of you, we achieved significant and beautiful Yamim Noraim, which made us start a promising new year.