ERIC TOKAJER

A few years ago, I served as a chaplain for our local sheriff’s office and as part of my training I was required to watch a video about how con artists are able to cheat people. The person who had made the video was a former con man who now consulted with law enforcement. In the video, the former con man made the comment, “It is easy to con people because most people are willing to deceive themselves if they get the outcome they desire.” In other words, the majority of people

In colonial America, there was a mother who had a wonderful recipe for chocolate chip cookies which she made with love. She baked her cookies lovingly in the oven of a wood burning stove, which had to be watched carefully. She made the cookies with fresh ingredients such as eggs from her chickens, milk and butter from her own cow, and with flour made from wheat grown on her family's farm. The sugar, however, she had to purchase when she made trips to the city a few times a ye

In the back of my mind, in my oldest childhood memories, I remember sitting in the Hebrew school classroom and reading books we borrowed from the synagogue library. My favorites were always the pop-up books. There were books about Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob, and Leah and Rachel (as well as all of their children). Those books were impactful because they told the history of my faith family, and how Israel came to be. There were other books such as

I’ve often pondered the words of Yeshua (Jesus) in Matthew 10 in which he spoke to His disciples before sending them out to minister to others. The longer I serve as a rabbi, the more these words mean to me: Matthew 10:16 ““Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” First, as the verse begins, it is important for all of us who are sent by G-D to reach the unreached to remember that G-D already knows He is sendi

This week, we will celebrate the Biblical Holy Day Sukkot, also known in English as Tabernacles. Sukkot is an eight day harvest festival...

When I was a young child, I attended synagogue regularly with my family. It was something we did every Friday night and Saturday morning....