FOR SERMONS AND ARTICLES, PRESS HERE

FOR ASK THE RAV, PRESS HERE

FOR TORAH PSYCHOLOGY BY PARASHA, PRESS HERE

 

EXCEPTIONAL JUDAISM                                 RAV BARUCH FRYDMAN-KOHL   Iyar 5771 - May 2011

Exceptionalism is the notion that a country, culture or period of time is unique and does not conform to general expectations or norms. As Jews we frame the idea of exceptionalism through a theological prism. The Bible speaks of us as am segulah, a treasured people, and we have internalized a sense of being both the object of special love from God and the subject of greater covenantal obligation. We recite this in kiddush, articulate it when we are called to the Torah, and repeat it in our daily prayers.  In theological terms, we refer to this as election or chosenness. read more

 

A LETTER TO THE CONGREGATION  FROM RAV BARUCH FRYDMAN-KOH   9 Tishrei 5771 - 17 September 2010   Dear Friends, As we finish our preparations for Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish Year, it is a time to review the year gone by, express regret and remorse for what we have done wrong, and a time to redirect ourselves in the light of our repentance to make the new year a truly good one. It is also a time when we focus on our essential identity as Jews, and the obligations we have to K'lal Yisrael, the whole People of Israel.  read more