The month of Elul carries us inextricably toward the three days of the year when we will spend quite a few hours in the synagogue.  What will we make of that time? Our high holiday prayer book, the machzor, is a hefty volume full of so many words – confessions, supplications, hopes expressed and failings… Read more »

One of Rosh HaShana’s major themes is birth: We call this holiday yom harat olam, “the birthday of the world.” In the Torah and Haftara we read of the long-awaited births of Isaac and Samuel. This year, as a new parent myself, this theme is a powerful expression of hope. Pushing my four-month-old’s stroller down… Read more »

It’s likely we humans can agree that this year’s unforeseen events have been a jolt, and for Jews and many others, since October 7, the shock waves continue to ripple. It’s as if the world as we knew it went out the window. Again. Which made me think about Elul, and the worthy practice of… Read more »

This is Evening’s Garment, a fairly large painting of mine (40” x 78”). As I’m writing this in August, it is in my exhibition at Berry Campbell Gallery in Chelsea. I’m an abstract painter who began painting in the 1970’s, inspired and taught by Color Field painters, American Modernist abstract artists who conceived of color,… Read more »

Hello Ansche Chesed, I’m Dave Goldstein. Many of you know me from my TV appearances and comedy shows across the US, Canada, and Europe. OK, almost none of you know me. I’m a proud member of Ansche Chesed and I joined the shul just before Covid hit. I usually have better timing. I’ve tried to… Read more »