Lighting the Hanukkah candles with my children is one of my favorite traditions. Tonight as we enter the festival of lights, wishing you all many blessings, health, joy and love. Happy Hanukkah!

When Sophie Tucker began singing this song written by Yellen & Pollack in 1925, the Jewish experience in America had included many mothers dealing with privations to care for their families, all the while passing down values that their tradition holds dear. Whether or not you have a “Yiddishe Momme”

The Festival of Lights calls us to light a candle, banish the darkness, say a blessing, and enjoy the miracle of light. While this song was written for the Eurovision Song Contest, not for Hanukkah, I couldn’t resist its imagery of fighting hopelessness by creating light together. And, it was origin

Three young cantors, all rising stars in the American Jewish music scene, are brought together in Amsterdam’s revered 17th century Portuguese Synagogue for a concert of Jewish sacred and secular music arranged for orchestra and choir. The New York Cantors, all serving synagogues in New York, are: Br

At the gate of the new year, I’m excited about all that 2022 can bring. The message of this song resonates clearly – that we will get through good times and bad together. I’m honored to collaborate with five-time Grammy-winning Christian artist Israel Houghton on this cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s cl

Video shows Russian tanks crossing the border, airstrikes hitting several cities and long lines of cars fleeing after Putin announced a military operation in Ukraine. The U.S. and its allies condemned the invasion and announced further action against Russia.

A Brief History Of Ukraine (And Why Russia Wants To Control It) In this animated video, historian Matt Lewis tells the story of Ukraine's turbulent and often surprising history. Beginning over a thousand years ago with the formation of the Kyivan Rus state, Matt tracks the development of Ukraine dur...

The Stunning And Heartbreaking Street Art Painted In Solidarity With Ukraine Walls around the world are being transformed into tributes to Ukraine amid Russia's invasion. Many artists have painted poignant pieces highlighting Ukrainians’ struggles amid the Russian invasion, while others call out Ru

The war in Ukraine has severely strained U.S.-Russia relations and increased the risk of a wider European conflict. Tensions are likely to increase between Russia and neighboring NATO member countries that would likely involve the United States, due to alliance security commitments. Additionally, t...

This Sunday our community will observe Tisha B'av and turn our attention to the city of Jerusalem, mourning the destruction of its temples some two millenniums ago. Here is the most famous love song to Jerusalem, my hometown, sung with my amazing colleagues Cantors Netanel Herstik and Yaakov Lemmer ...