ADATH

08/31/2026

Why Am I Responsible for What You Do? | 10@9 | 2026.08.31

As the Jewish people prepare to enter Israel, the Torah introduces a new covenant of responsibility: Arvut - the source of Kol Yisrael Areivim Zeh Lazeh. Every Jew is responsible for every other Jew.

That sounds magnificent. But it is also frightening. The story of Achan and Israel's disastrous defeat at Ai demonstrates that another person's wrongdoing can become my responsibility if I could have tried to prevent it, challenge it, or repair it. And Arvut reaches even further: spiritually, my obligation to perform a Mitzvah is not entirely fulfilled as long as another Jew who wants to perform that mitzvah still needs my help to do so.

The word itself reveals what is being asked of us. An Arev is a guarantor - someone who willingly assumes responsibility for another person's debt. Economically, it makes little sense: there is no upside, only risk. Proverbs even warns against it. But we do it for family. We do it for people we love.

That is Arvut. Your obligations become, in some measure, my obligations. Your failures concern me. Your success concerns me. Every Jew is a guarantor for every other Jew.

Magnificent, frightening, and momentous.

To see more of Rabbi Whitman’s insights, please subscribe to his YouTube Channel here:
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08/30/2026

Weather Forecasts Work Because the World Shares | 10@9 | 2026.08.30

Modern weather forecasting began with a remarkable insight: knowing the weather where you are isn't enough. You need to know what's happening somewhere else - because that weather may be heading toward you.

Today, weather data is collected from more than 1,800 locations around the world, twice a day, helping make forecasts about 85% accurate. But the system only works because everyone shares. Even countries at war with one another freely exchange weather data, because no country can see enough of the atmosphere on its own. By giving away information that helps others, each country receives something far more valuable in return: a more accurate picture of the weather that none of them could produce alone.

That is a powerful model for Jewish community. We create synagogues and communities so others will have places to pray, learn, gather, celebrate, and support one another. But in building those places for others, we create something we desperately need ourselves. Weather forecasting demonstrates a remarkable truth about life: when everyone contributes what they have, everyone receives something that no one could have created alone.

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

08/28/2026

Jerusalem Stopped for a Farmer Carrying a Fig | 10@9 | 2026.08.28
A farmer sees the first fig beginning to ripen on his tree. He marks it as Bikkurim - his first fruit, to be brought to God. It takes only a moment. Almost no effort, no expense, no sacrifice. And yet when that farmer eventually reaches Jerusalem, something remarkable happens.
Important people come out to greet him. Shopkeepers interrupt their work and stand in his honor. Why does Jerusalem make such a fuss over an ordinary farmer carrying a piece of fruit? The great Chasidic teacher Rabbi Yerachmiel Yisrael Yitzchak Danziger, the Yismach Yisrael, sees a profound message in that extraordinary welcome: what looks small to us may be enormously precious in God's eyes.
We constantly measure our good deeds by how difficult they were, how much they cost, how many people noticed, or how much difference we think they made. Bikkurim teaches us to use a different measure. A small mitzvah, a small kindness, a seemingly insignificant good act - none of them is insignificant. If God cherishes them, we should learn to cherish them too.
To see more of Rabbi Whitman’s insights, please subscribe to his YouTube Channel here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5FLcsC6xz5TmkirT1qObkA

08/28/2026

Shabbat Shalom!

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

08/27/2026

✨Monday Afternoon Games at ADATH✨

Mondays can hold cards, conversation, and a good laugh. Join us from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. for HKF Canasta or Mah-Jong at 223 Harrow Crescent.

Bring your cards and shufflers for Canasta, or your Mah-Jong set and 2026 card. It’s $6 per session. Whether you come with a friend or meet someone new, there’s a place for you.

08/26/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DZQ2KJBBR/

The 2018 massacre at Pittsburgh's Tree of Life Synagogue changed the way Jewish communities across North America think about security. Locks, cameras, guards, training, and constant vigilance have bec

08/25/2026

Don't Edit Your Failures Out of Your Story | 10@9 | 2026.08.25

Dr. Seuss kept a file he called "Noble Failures" - ideas that hadn't worked, but that he wasn't willing simply to throw away.

The Torah does something strikingly similar with the stories we tell about ourselves. The farmer bringing his first fruits begins with Arami Oved Avi - taking us back to idolatry, wandering, vulnerability, and weakness. At the Seder, we do it again: the Talmud tells us to begin the magnificent story of the Exodus from our lowest point. Why would we deliberately preserve the parts of our story we'd rather edit out?

Rabbi Ariel Rackovsky points toward a powerful answer. Judaism doesn't romanticize our failures, but neither does it erase them. We remember where we went wrong because what happened next matters - what we learned, what we repaired, and who we became. As Rosh Hashanah approaches, we don't stand before God pretending the failures aren't part of our story. We ask what we have done with them.

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

08/25/2026

More than 450 people came together at ADATH for an evening filled with music and connection.

Thank you to Mayer Sasson, conductor Trevor Dix, and the Lakeshore Concert Band for a memorable performance of Rhapsody in Blue. We are also grateful to Dr. Peter and Miriam Safran, and to our Bridge and Sisterhood volunteers, whose support and care made the evening possible.

It was a warm gathering of community, friendship, and shared experience. We are already looking ahead to the next concert in October.

08/24/2026

How Do You Give Thanks for What Hasn't Happened Yet? | 10@9 | 2026.08.24

The Mitzvot of Bikkurim and Maaser both ask a farmer to express gratitude. But they do so in strikingly different ways. Bikkurim - bringing the first fruits - is marked by procession, declaration, and communal celebration. Maaser is quieter and more private. Why?

Rabbi JJ Schachter points to a crucial difference in timing. Bikkurim comes at the beginning of the harvest, when the farmer holds only the first fruit and most of the harvest is still a promise. He celebrates with faith in what is yet to come. Maaser comes at the end, when the harvest has been gathered and the farmer can look at what actually fills his silo and give thanks for what he has received.

As we approach Rosh Hashanah, we need both ways of seeing. We look back at the year ending with gratitude for what we actually received - the blessings safely gathered into our lives. But we also look forward with the faith of Bikkurim, recognizing the first shoots of possibility even before we know what they will become.

On Rosh Hashanah, we don't merely inventory the full silos of the year ending. We also look for the first fruits of the year beginning.

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