ADATH

10/30/2026

Kindness Begins Before Anyone Asks | 10@9 | 2026.10.30

Most of us try to be kind when someone asks for our help. But Avraham teaches us something more demanding - genuine kindness can begin long before anyone asks. Rabbi Yosef Rimon finds a remarkable insight in the way the Rambam presents the Talmud's teaching that welcoming guests is greater than receiving God's presence. Even while experiencing God's presence, Avraham raises his eyes and looks into the distance, seeking strangers he can invite into his home.

Rabbi Meilech Biderman brings this lesson into our everyday lives. Imagine sitting with friends at a synagogue gathering, a meal, or a celebration. If a stranger approaches and asks to join us, we might welcome them warmly. But how often do we look toward the door, searching for someone who might be standing alone, hoping to be noticed and included?

Avraham's extraordinary kindness began not with his words or even his actions, but with his eyes. He didn't wait for an opportunity to do good to present itself. He went looking for one. Perhaps the greatest lesson we can learn from Avraham is not simply to be kind when someone needs us, but to train ourselves to notice who might need us before they ever ask.

To see more of Rabbi Whitman’s insights, please subscribe to his YouTube Channel here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5FLcsC6xz5TmkirT1qObkA

10/30/2026

Shabbat Shalom!

Looking for more? Visit our website anytime for upcoming events, Torah learning opportunities, and recordings of past programs.

10/30/2026

What makes a synagogue feel like home?

It is the people beside us, the friendships we build, and the moments we share together. From daily minyanim and Shabbat services to Torah, Mishnah and Talmud classes, children’s programming, music, Bridge, MahJong, and cultural activities, there are many ways to find connection at ADATH.

This year, we invite you to find your place with us. There is a place for you here.

10/29/2026

What Does Kindness Have to Do with Prayer? | 10@9 | 2026.10.29

What does kindness have to do with prayer? Two central themes of Parshat VaYeira may initially seem unrelated: Chessed - kindness and compassion - and prayer. God visits Avraham, Avraham and Sara welcome strangers into their home, Avraham prays for the people of S***m, and, according to our rabbis, establishes the daily morning prayer. These two themes come together when Avraham prays for the healing of Avimelech. But why might God heed Avraham's prayer on behalf of Avimelech rather than Avimelech's own prayer?

The Rav, Rabbi Yosef Soloveitchik, offers a profound insight. When we identify so deeply with another person's suffering that their pain becomes our own, our prayer is no longer simply a request on someone else's behalf. We genuinely need that person's suffering to end. Our prayer becomes an expression of compassion so deep that it may itself be considered by God.

This reveals an essential connection between moral and spiritual behavior. Kindness, hospitality, compassion, and prayer are not separate ways of serving God. Prayer itself can become an act of profound Chessed when it arises from genuine concern for another person's well-being. In caring for others, we serve God; and in turning to God on their behalf, we deepen our commitment to them.

To see more of Rabbi Whitman’s insights, please subscribe to his YouTube Channel here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5FLcsC6xz5TmkirT1qObkA

10/28/2026

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Akeidat Yitzchak, the Binding of Isaac, is one of the Torah's most difficult and troubling episodes. Dr. Alan Jotkowitz, writing in The Lehrhaus in 2023, explored its meaning at a time when Israeli pa

10/27/2026

Can We Walk Together When We Disagree? | 10@9 | 2026.10.27

Akeidat Yitzchak, the Binding of Isaac, is one of the Torah's most difficult and troubling episodes. Dr. Alan Jotkowitz, writing in The Lehrhaus in 2023, explored its meaning at a time when Israeli parents were sending their sons and daughters into danger. He presents two remarkable interpretations. Rav Shagar (Rabbi Shimon Gershon Rosenberg) sees Avraham struggling with uncertainty about what God truly wants of him. Rabbi Yehuda Amital emphasizes Avraham's prayer that the sacrifice not take place. Both challenge us to confront the uncertainty and difficult choices that are part of our lives.

But prayer alone is not enough. We also need Teshuva - the willingness to change. Three times in the Akeidah we read Vayeilchu Shneihem Yachdav - they walked together. Avraham and Yitzchak walked together despite the terrible uncertainty surrounding their journey. Can we learn to do the same? Can we maintain our deeply held convictions and profound disagreements, yet still walk together with mutual respect and a shared sense of purpose?

Today, as Israelis vote in a historic election, I extend Jotkowitz's reflections to another danger facing Israel - the deep divisions within Israeli society. My prayer is that whoever wins and forms the next government will seek not to erase our differences, but to calm them, respecting the entire electorate rather than encouraging fear, anger, and hatred. We cannot expect an election to solve our deepest disagreements. But perhaps we can begin the Teshuva we so urgently need - learning once again to walk together while holding our deeply-felt differences.

To see more of Rabbi Whitman’s insights, please subscribe to his YouTube Channel here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5FLcsC6xz5TmkirT1qObkA

10/27/2026

October 29 to 31, we are welcoming Dahlia Abraham-Klein for a Shabbat unlike any other.

Through family stories, her grandfather’s journal, a special Bukharian Shabbat dinner with Dahlia and Mervin, and Shabbat morning learning, we will have time to connect, share, and learn together.

Registration is required. Bring a friend, bring your family, and come curious. Everyone is invited.

10/26/2026

Can You See the Bad Without Losing Sight of the Good? | 10@9 | 2026.10.26

When cardiologist Dr. Afshine Emrani was learning to read echocardiograms, he was trained to find what was wrong with the heart. But he began noticing something troubling: he was bringing that same habit home, looking for defects in his children, his friends, and the people around him. Then a wise medical mentor taught him a lesson that transformed how he saw others.

His mentor didn't ignore what was wrong with a patient's heart. He explained what needed to be fixed, but also showed the patient what was healthy and working well. Dr. Emrani connects this powerful lesson to Pirkei Avot's contrast between Avraham's Ayin Tovah - a good eye - and Bilaam's Ayin Ra'ah - a bad eye. In this week's Parsha, Avraham recognizes the evil of S***m, yet searches for the righteous people who might still be found there.

Having a good eye doesn't mean ignoring what is wrong. It means refusing to let what is wrong blind us to what is good. As Dr. Emrani puts it, "Any machine can find a defect. A healer finds what's still alive." This is a lesson not only for doctors, but for how all of us see and treat the people in our lives.

To see more of Rabbi Whitman’s insights, please subscribe to his YouTube Channel here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5FLcsC6xz5TmkirT1qObkA

10/25/2026

The Third Day Is Always the Hardest | 10@9 | 2026.10.25

The Kotzker Rebbe offered a surprising answer to the question of what was most difficult about the Binding of Isaac: Avraham's walk back down the mountain. Sometimes the greatest challenge is not making a difficult decision, but living with it afterward, when the inspiration of the moment has faded.

Why does God visit Avraham on the third day after his circumcision? And why does Avraham reach the place of the Binding of Isaac only on the third day? In one case, Avraham is experiencing the pain that follows his commitment; in the other, he has time to reflect before carrying it out. These two experiences teach us something profound about the difference between initial enthusiasm and lasting conviction.

Every one of us has a third day. We resolve to become better, to do something good or holy, and then discover that following through is harder than we imagined. Difficulty doesn't necessarily mean we made the wrong decision. Sometimes it is precisely when our enthusiasm fades that we need God's encouragement, and the strength to remain faithful to our best intentions.

To see more of Rabbi Whitman’s insights, please subscribe to his YouTube Channel here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5FLcsC6xz5TmkirT1qObkA

10/23/2026

Can Jewish Law Justify Stealing from Palestinians? | 10@9 | 2026.10.23

As Palestinian farmers attempt to harvest their olives in the West Bank, some face violence, intimidation, and theft by extremist Israeli settlers. Rabbi Dov Lior has issued a ruling arguing that Jews are permitted, and even encouraged, to take these olives because the land belongs to the Jewish people.

Rabbi Katriel Brander and other respected Orthodox rabbis in Israel strongly reject this reasoning as a distortion of Jewish law. Drawing on Avraham's example in this week's Parsha, L**h L**ha, we examine the Halachic arguments and a fundamental question: Can religious ideology transform what would otherwise be theft into a Mitzvah?

The immediate victims are Palestinian farmers whose property, livelihoods, and safety are threatened. But the damage extends further. Such actions constitute a grave Chillul Hashem - a desecration of God's name - and harm Israel and the Jewish people. Defending Israel and remaining faithful to Torah demand that we distinguish between genuine religious obligations and attempts to justify wrongdoing in their name.

To see more of Rabbi Whitman’s insights, please subscribe to his YouTube Channel here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5FLcsC6xz5TmkirT1qObkA