Raysh Weiss, at The Blogs

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Mar 22, 2021, 12:15 AM

The Eternal Ambient Light

Somewhere inside of me, there’s a hidden interior designer. I’ve long been fascinated with how a space’s physical arrangement creates a specific mood. Whether I’m weaving through residential streets on my bike or cutting through urban spaces on a...

Jan 13, 2021, 8:38 AM

Creating a World in an Instant

After a brief, opening recap of the Israelite tribes that had descended to Egypt, the biblical book of Exodus, in its eighth verse, introduces us to the new Pharaoh. In the very next verse, we are startled by this...

Jun 25, 2020, 11:21 PM

Reflections on the Rebbe’s 26th yahrzeit: 7 essential life lessons from Chabad

The Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, c. 1987. (Photo by Zev Markowitz and courtesy chaiartgallery.com)

It's quintessential Chabad: Don’t take yourself too seriously; live with joy; and realize why you're not all that important by focusing on the needs of others

Apr 30, 2020, 9:34 PM

Tazria-Metzora and the Mysterious Connector — From Cult to COVID

The double-portion of Tazria-Metzora (Leviticus 12:1 – 15:33) pulls us out of the orderly purity of the pristine, glimmering golden edifice of the tabernacle, and into the inherent messiness of what it means to be human, both at its...

Mar 6, 2020, 8:55 AM

Say Goodbye to Roe v. Wade? First, Learn Your Greek

The following piece is based on a sermon I delivered on 02.22.20 Just two weeks back, in the Torah portion Mishpatim, we read of 53 legal cases and commandments which serve as elaborations on the Aseret HaDibbrot, the Ten Commandments. ...

Oct 28, 2019, 6:12 AM

Tree of Life Massacre: One Year Later

I once knew someone who, in every Jewish gathering, no matter what the context, would pose the question, “But what about the Holocaust?” One might respond to such a refrain with a certain degree of tired cynicism, but the more...

Oct 19, 2019, 1:15 AM

This Land is Your Land: Overcoming Greed and Ego During this Holiday of Joy

The following sermon is from the first day of Sukkot 5780: “We would like to acknowledge that we are in Mi'kma'ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi'kmaq People." Shortly after moving to Canada several years ago to assume my...

Oct 10, 2019, 7:44 PM

YK 5780: Pursue Your Happiness

The following was my Yom Kippur day-time sermon from yesterday: Just this summer, my family and I returned to the US and made Pennsylvania our home after living and working in eastern Canada these last few years. Immediately, I was...

Oct 7, 2019, 11:57 PM

Not Fearing in an Age of Anxiety

A Tribute to the Oranienburger Straße Synagoge and my favourite Berlin Jews

Oct 2, 2019, 2:23 PM

Epstein tainted my Wexner-funded rabbinical studies. Here’s how I’m repenting

Leslie Wexner, left, and Jeffrey Epstein. (Laura E. Adkins/Getty Images via JTA)

I'm 'paying it forward' to help empower young women. All Jewish orgs that received Epstein's dirty money should do the same

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About Me

Raysh Weiss, Ph.D., is the rabbi of Congregation Beth El of Bucks County, PA. (Author photo by Ann Silver)