The Boiling Point

ARRIVAL: Newly planted in last year’s wooden planters by the turf fence, an heirloom cherry tomato plant celebrates the holiday of the trees. “I will be starting up the garden on the third floor this Monday, on Tu B’Shvat,” Jacob posted on Schoology Friday morning.

Tu B’shvat: Who grows the fruit?

February 10, 2020

The “new year” of the trees, also referred to as the birthday of the trees or Tu B’shvat, meaning the 15th of Shvat, is coming up this year on Feb.10. You can celebrate it by...

ENDING: As the menorah readies for eight candles at once, it's a good time to consider to manage assimilation versus authenticity during the rest of the year." />

With last candle, thoughts on taking Hanukkah into the rest of the year

December 29, 2019

As Modern Orthodox Jews, we’re all well versed in the practice of combining our authentic selves with who we feel we are supposed to be. We’re constan...

Sukkot Lessons from Kohelet

October 11, 2019

It is custom among Jews of Ashkenazi descent to read Sefer Kohelet, or Ecclesiastes, from the Ketuvim on the Shabbat of Chol Hamoed or Shemini Atzeret....

Rosh Hashanah 5780: Lessons from Gan Eden

September 26, 2019

While Rosh HaShanah is mainly known as the Jewish new year, its true origin is often overlooked, which is the commemoration of Creation, and essentially the birth...

Adar 2: Fix the system, don’t discard it

March 3, 2019

By Joshua H. Glettner, 10th grade Imagine you have a perfect system for completing all your work and always studying exactly enough to succeed. But wh...

BEGINNING: Buds began to swell on an apple tree in Pico-Robertson today -- Jan. 21, which in the Hebrew calendar was Tu B'shvat.

Tu B’Shvat: Your reflection in the fruit

January 21, 2019

In a sense, we are evaluating the potential of the tree on this first day of its new year, while reflecting on its previous year, and can likewise be evaluating our own past and potential improvement in the future.

BLASTS: Rabbi David Block blew the shofar after Shacharit in the main minyan Aug. 31. Rosh Hashanah starts Sunday evening, Sept. 9. Shana tova! BP Photo by Alyssa Wallack. " />

In varying sounds of the shofar, new opportunities and a fresh start

September 9, 2018

Rosh Hashanah is one of my favorite holidays, as it reminds me that I have a new year ahead of me full of new experiences, challenges and successes. It...

DVAR TORAH: Goodness is a commandment, not an option

May 17, 2018

By Sharon Khalil, 11th grade Recently in my Tanach class with Rabbi Schwarzberg, we debated the following question: Is not doing good, ...

Parshat Bo: The message of a hardened heart

January 19, 2018

By Rachel Lasry, Staff Writer In this week’s parsha, Parshat Bo, Pharaoh agrees to release the Israelites after God begins the plagues against his nat...

DVAR TORAH: Weinstein, ‘Lech Lecha’, and Ramban

November 5, 2017

By Ilan Bouskila, 12th Grade Early on in Parshat Lech Lecha, we encounter a very disturbing episode that hits especially hard, given what’s been circulating the news about Harvey Weinstein sexually harassing and assaulting women in the Hollywood industry. In Chapter 12 of Bereishit, the parsha reads: As [Avram] was about to enter Egypt, he said to...

Weekly Parsha: From Israel to ninth grade, new titles, new beginnings

September 8, 2017

By Hannah Poltorak, 9th Grade In this week’s Parsha, Ki Tavo, Moshe instructs the Jewish people that once they enter the land of Israel, they are to bring the “first” ripe fruit, or bikkurim, to the kohanim to show their gratitude to God. We also learn about the various blessings and curses if God’s laws are abided, or if they are not. Bnai Yisrael have recently adop...

Initiative: Cheshvan is a month where we proactively search for meaning in our lives and a connection to G-d.

The Hidden Meaning of Cheshvan

November 30, 2016

There are still a few days left in the month of Cheshvan, so there’s still time to learn from it, and specifically from its name: Mar-Cheshvan, as the mont...