Rob Scheinberg, at The Blogs

Mar 1, 2019, 7:42 AM

Otzma Yehudit: 30 years ago, we knew the danger

Rabbi Meir Kahane. (Yossi Zamir/Flash90)

He was charming, but his words were as hateful as any we had heard, and I am glad we sounded the alarm about his toxic ideology

Sep 14, 2018, 8:29 AM

Anti-Ashamnu (To be sung to the tune of ‘Ashamnu’)

ai ai ai ai ai ai ai …..... Not my fault It wasn’t me It wasn’t so bad He deserved it ai ai ai ai ai ai ai …..... Everyone was doing it It didn’t hurt anybody Get over it already You’re too sensitive ai ai ai ai ai...

Sep 3, 2018, 11:49 PM

Whole-Broken-Shattered-Whole: Introducing the Shofar

One long blast. Three short blasts. Nine very short blasts. And again, one long blast. Why do we blow the Shofar in this peculiar pattern? There are pages and pages of traditional Jewish writings about ‘why do we blow the shofar on Rosh HaShanah.’ It’s an...

Aug 30, 2018, 12:45 AM

The regret and gratitude of Elul / Lulei

This Hebrew year that is now coming to an end: it could have been different. We can probably imagine various ways, large and small, that this year could have unfolded differently than it did. While I do have some specifics...

Jul 19, 2018, 11:28 PM

Political Civility: Rethinking Bar Kamtza

After Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked to leave a Virginia restaurant earlier this month, I was asked: Is there any classical Jewish parallel to such an incident? I responded that a close parallel may be a story...

May 18, 2018, 10:15 AM

Featured Post

Jacob and Esau, Itamar and the Rabbit, and mutual fear

Illustrative: Cover photo from David Grossman's children's book, Itamar Meets a Rabbit (in Hebrew: Itamar pogesh arnav).

The simplicity of a children's book reminds us that fearing each other makes the world more dangerous

Aug 16, 2017, 7:20 AM

Monuments to tyrants — in Ukraine, and in the United States

Several years ago on a visit to Kiev, the capital of Ukraine and the (approximate) home of my great-grandparents, I was surprised to see a large majestic statue of the Cossack leader Bogdan Chmielnicki -- a 17th-century political and...

Jun 30, 2017, 1:33 PM

Walking towards each other: Lessons from a biblical judge (Haftarah Hukkat)

The Haftarah for the Torah portion of Hukkat (read in Jewish communities around the world this year on July 1) revolves around the story of one particular judge, named Yiftach (often rendered in English as “Jephthah,” but “Yiftach” is...

About Me

Rabbi Robert Scheinberg is the rabbi of the United Synagogue of Hoboken, a teacher and musician, and an adjunct faculty member at the Jewish Theological Seminary.