Rabbi's Blog

Dear OZ family,

Those who complete the entire book of Tehillim on a monthly basis completed today’s recitation with chapter 17, which ends with a prayer to behold God and to see His countenance in an awakened state, in charity. Some actually have the custom of reciting this verse whenever giving charity.

By rights, we should all selfishly cling to our own means of survival and support, as early man did, and as...Read more...

Dear Friends:

I am happy to announce that the Annual Dinner & Community Celebration will be held on March 28, 2022. Look for invitations in the mail shortly.

We welcome David & Nicole Debora as our Guests of Honor & Couple of the Year - they have quietly been reliable supporters of our shul for many years. Esther Rimokh and Heather Conn have distinguished themselves by their leadership in selfless acts...Read more...

Dear OZ family,

Today was an historic day at the United Nations. For only the second time, an Israeli led resolution passed in the General Assembly with 114 co-sponsors, declaring holocaust denial an international crime. Very moving supportive statements were made by the Russian Federation, Germany, the European Union, The United States, Czech...Read more...

Dear OZ family,

Tu B’shvat in a leap year always seems to take us by surprise. We’re hardly thinking of nature’s renewal when sunset still starts with a '4' and sunrise is at 7:16 am. Even Israel is experiencing an unusually cold and wet spell this past week. But with Adar just around the corner we know...Read more...

Dear OZ family,

When we left Egypt in Parshas Bo, we were still runaway slaves until we crossed the Yam Suf in Parshas Beshallach.  Our daily prayers recall that we saw Egypt itself die on the shores that brought us to safety. That was when our full belief in God and Moshe was manifest in the singing of “Az Yashir” that closes our daily praises of our...Read more...

Dear OZ family,

As you already know, I am sorry to announce the passing of an old friend, Irving Polsky. I met Irving a few weeks before starting at OZ back in 1988, when he was sitting shiva for his mother. Their son, David was a little boy and Irving was sitting with his younger brother, Daniel.

Irving and Daniel were both very intelligent and artistic and they both demonstrated the finest qualities of...Read more...

Dear OZ family, 

Let’s try to picture what the last moments of life were like for the patriarch for whom our people and nation are named. Israel alighted up to his bed from which he would not descend alive and blessed his children with the predictions that would determine their futures. He knew the exile...Read more...

Dear OZ family,

Everyone knows that we derive from this week’s Parsha that given a choice between receiving a Divine visit and hospitality, we should choose the latter. Avraham puts God on hold in order to serve three strangers, and our sages judged this apparent chutzpah favorably. The Maharsha (Shabbos 127A)...Read more...

Dear OZ family,

Moadim L’simcha!

There is a Simchas Torah custom of holding up the Sefer backwards for Hagbah, quite a difficult task, since the entire scroll is all to one side. The reason for this custom is...Read more...

Dear OZ family,

Moadim L’Simcha!

As is so often the case, the venomous hatred of those who despise Israel is stronger than their support for the people they purport to favor. This was the case when these haters...Read more...

Dear OZ family,

The 1st Temple was completed just before Yom Kippur and Tanach relates that King Solomon celebrated this achievement for two weeks (Melachim Aleph 8:65). Divrei Hayamim Bet (7:10) relates that these two weeks of celebration  ended on the 23rd of  Tishre. Our sages understood this to mean that the Temple celebrations overrode the...Read more...

Dear Friends of OZ

This is my last Rosh Hashana message as president. Thank G-d, right?

It is very difficult to be president - it doesn't fit well with my personality. (I'll never forgive Mendy Gross for encouraging me to do it!). I don't like asking anyone for money; like Ben Shapiro, I believe that "facts don't care about your feelings," so I tend to ignore emotional factors when engaging in any...Read more...