blogs/rabbi-huberman

Parashah Toldot
“Isaac dug anew the wells which had been dug in the days of his father Abraham.” (Genesis 26:18)

A current television ad for Progressive Insurance mocks middle aged adults, who — God forbid — are in danger of “becoming their parents.”

The commercial features a fictitious Dr. Rick, who scolds baby boomers for packing homemade snacks before...Read more...

Parashah Vayera
Share your food with everyone who is hungry; share your home with the poor and homeless. Give clothes to those in need.” (Isaiah 58:7)

“Rabbi, I need to tell you, I’m really not that religious.”

This is a declaration I hear regularly when I am introduced to someone.

Many find it important to affirm that while they are Jewish in their hearts, the idea of...Read more...

Parashah Noah
“Everyone on earth had the same language and the same words.” (Genesis 11:1)

At about 8:20 am last Tuesday, my wife and I approached the parking lot of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services building in Holtsville.

As we sat for a few minutes, Patte quizzed me on some of the tougher questions among the 100, which immigration officials could potentially ask me as...Read more...

Parashah V'Zot HaBrachah
“Never again did there arise in Israel a prophet like Moses—whom the LORD singled out, face to face.” Deuteronomy 34:10

One of the most confusing, fascinating, divisive lines in the Torah will be chanted this Wednesday morning as we complete the reading of the Five Books of Moses, and we return “to the beginning.”

Spoiler alert: I’m about...Read more...

“Sincere apologies, it would seem, are becoming our nation’s fastest diminishing resource.”

So wrote Rabbi Elliott Cosgrove of Manhattan’s Park Avenue Synagogue in 2013.

In particular, he referred to the behavior of a famous tennis player, who had recently thrown a tantrum after losing a US Open match.

The tennis star subsequently issued a “non-apology apology“ blaming the...Read more...