Reuven H. Taff, at The Blogs

Jul 26, 2023, 7:06 AM

A Tisha B’Av Lamentation for These Times

As a Jew who lives in America, my heart breaks for my family in Israel. I speak with my brother and sister who live in a community close to the border with Lebanon and in a moshav near Jerusalem. ...

Jul 6, 2022, 5:33 PM

Jew against Jew – It needs to end now – before it is too late!

Pages torn from a siddur by young Orthodox men at the egalitarian section of the Western Wall on June 30, 2022. (Masorti Movement) Times of Israel Photo

Of the many synagogue trips I have led to Israel over the years, many of them included my officiating at bar or bat mitzvah ceremonies at the Kotel, the same holy venue where last week's ugly incidents occurred. Judah Ari...

Oct 1, 2021, 9:05 PM

The Governor of California has the power of the pen. Will he use it to fight anti-Semitism?

California Gov. Gavin Newsom gives an update to the state's response to the coronavirus, at the Governor's Office of Emergency Services in Rancho Cordova Calif., Tuesday, March 17, 2020. At right is California Health and Human Services Agency Director Dr. Mark Ghaly. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, Pool)

Nefarious forces in California are working behind the scenes to lobby the 1300 school districts as they promote the teaching of an Ethnic Studies Curriculum that is laced with anti-Semitic and anti-Israel material. Governor Gavin Newsom has until October...

May 14, 2021, 12:44 AM

The Jews of silence: A message to America’s Jews

My niece, who lives in Tel Aviv, just gave birth last week to a baby girl. The baby is spending a good part of her second week of life in a bomb shelter. My brother, who lives by the border...

Sep 2, 2020, 9:55 AM

A COVID-Inspired Jewish Musical Collaboration

Since most synagogue campuses have been closed due to the pandemic, Cantor Ben Rosner of Sacramento’s Mosaic Law Congregation, has been thinking outside the box to create meaningful High Holyday musical experiences for his community. He envisioned a collaboration...

Jun 4, 2020, 9:35 PM

Statements, Sermons, Our Thoughts and Prayers, Blah, Blah Blah

A young black Jewish couple who are members of my congregation take a Shabbat walk in their neighborhood and stand in front of someone’s home for a few minutes admiring the flowers in the garden. The owner comes out...

May 3, 2020, 8:32 PM

Remembering My Father Who Died with a Song on His Lips and a Song in His Heart

On the 12th of Iyar which falls on Wednesday, May 6th of this year, my brother, sister and I will observe the 27th Yahrzeit of our dear father. He died suddenly at the Park Hotel in Netanya on Sunday,...

Apr 29, 2020, 1:25 AM

An American community commemorates Yom HaZikaron with emotional recollections

Our community in Sacramento, California joined together on the eve of Yom HaZikaron for a commemoration that was personal, contemplative and emotional. Our synagogue President, Steve Turtletaub, began our ceremony by asking everyone to join in a moment of...

Jan 2, 2020, 9:50 AM

David Stern will be remembered for many things, but his compassion, kindness, humility and pride are qualities that should be at the top of the list.

The Yiddish Word “Mensch” means a person with integrity and honor. But it means more than that: it is a person who is compassionate and kind. I never met David Stern, who died on the first day of 2020, three...

Aug 21, 2019, 10:59 AM

Memo to Omar and Tlaib: A Nobel Peace Prize Awaits!

Dear Congresswomen Omar and Tlaib: My brother called me on Friday. He was pretty upset. He lives in Northern Israel, just a few kilometers from the border with Lebanon. I asked him why he was so upset. He told me...

About Me

Reuven Taff has spent 50 years serving Jewish communities. For 25 years, he was the rabbi and spiritual leader of Mosaic Law Congregation in Sacramento, California, now serving as Rabbi Emeritus. As a Hazzan and Jewish Educator, he served as Cantor and Educational Director at Beth El Congregation in Phoenix, Arizona and Headmaster of Gesher Jewish Day School of Northern Virginia. In addition to his blog on Times of Israel, his opinion pieces have been published in The Sacramento Bee, Sacramento News and Review, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Algemeiner, The Jerusalem Post, The Jewish Forward and other publications. He can be contacted at rabbitaff@mosaiclaw.org.

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