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Avinu Malkeinu is a heartfelt plea to God for mercy, forgiveness, and compassion. It’s purpose is to guide individuals in seeking forgiveness, strengthening our connection with God, acknowledging our responsibilities, and fostering spiritual growth during the High Holidays.

As the High Holidays approach, Avinu Malkeinu serves as a reminder of our responsibility to mend our ways and seek reconciliation with the Divine and fellow humans. It prompts us to consider how we can better ourselves in the coming year and repair any broken relationships.

Avinu Malkeinu encourages us to introspect, not just on our individual deeds but also on our collective responsibilities. It calls for social justice, compassion, and the betterment of the world around us.

Ultimately, Avinu Malkeinu serves as a spiritual guide, evolving with us throughout the High Holidays, reminding us of our capacity for change, growth, and the pursuit of a more righteous path in the year ahead.

I made this home recording. I remember years ago sitting in shul during the High Holidays and hearing a folk version of Avinu Malkeinu on guitar and loving it. Last year I heard Yoyo Ma play it at White House with a crowd of Jewish professionals singing around him, I was moved to tears. We are at another holiday season, and I humbly offer this version to you.

More music coming soon so please follow me on Spotify to stay up to date.

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Tazria Metzora and Inner Light

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Passover is coming

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Memories of You and I

This is an original song I started writing during the height of the pandemic when Susan and I were driving to St Louis and I new this would be the last time I would see my mother. 

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Earlier this week, we celebrated the holiday of Purim. Purim is fun, lighthearted, and lacks seriousness. Purim is a day of fun, joy, and feasting. A holiday for sending gifts to one another, and our Rabbis have even declared that we are kind of obligated to become somewhat inebriated on this day, where we can't tell the differences between the bad guy Haman and the blessed Mordechai. Behavior that is not tolerated all year long is encouraged on Purim. 

However, this week's Torah Portion Ki Tisa has a different mood, sober and somber themes where the Israelites commit the gravest sin of idolatry.   

It begins with the obligation incumbent upon everyone, rich and poor, to donate a half-shekel for the maintenance of the sanctuary. In today's modern times, we would call this the first-ever building fund.

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Boker tov and Shavua tov! We are in the Jewish month of Adar, a time of exuberant joy and celebration. Adar is the month of Purim, a holiday during which we dress up in costumes and commemorate the miraculous salvation of the Jewish people from a decree of destruction.

According to Jewish tradition, the month of Adar offers us a unique opportunity to tap into the Divine energy of joy and laughter. As the Talmud teaches, when Adar enters, we increase our joy (Ta'anit, 29a). Kabbalistic teachings view joy as a potent force that uplifts and transforms our souls. By experiencing joy, we establish a deeper connection with the Divine, enabling our spiritual growth and development.

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Folsom Prison Blues additional lyrics by Keb Mo & testing out a Mojotone pickup on my Iris guitar

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Boker Tov! I wrote this and I imagine it can be used to teach kids the morning greeting of Boker Tov and the reply of Boker Or

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Finding Holiness and Microaggressions at the same time.

At the SLBC conference in 2019, I walked into a room full of people who seemed to know each other. It's hard to explain, but there was so much joy coming from everyone. It was overwhelming at first. It felt like I was at a club with people who had all been to this great summer camp and hadn't seen each other in a while, but I had never attended that summer camp. I felt like an outsider, but as the day went on, I began to feel more comfortable, and by the end of the conference, I was hooked and knew I would be back.

This past conference, I had the honor and privilege of being part of SLBC's core Conference Educators, and I couldn't help but feel like I had been invited to the cool kids' table for lunch. I remember that first conference thinking how cool it would be to be one of the rabbis and educators at SLBC and meet and work with all the amazing people involved in the program. And years earlier, I thought it would be awesome to meet Rabbi Susan Talve, and now, I have had the privilege of working with her for the last three years, and I am lucky to call her a friend. 

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The Torah portion of Yitro is a powerful reminder of the significance of seeking out and valuing diverse perspectives. The character of Yitro, the father-in-law of Moses, represents an outsider who brings a new and important perspective to the Israelites. This Torah portion highlights the importance of embracing diversity, especially in the Jewish community. https://rabbisandra.substack.com/p/torah-tuesday-yitro?sd=pf

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Torah Tuesday: Nachshon and the Legacy of Black Courage

This past weekend, as the rabbi in residence for Shir Hadash in St. Louis, I mashed up the words of "Mi Chamocha," which also appears in this week's Torah portion, Beshalach, and the well-known spiritual "Wade in the Water" - to create a representation of the journey of liberation. After the service, a congregant approached me with questions about the significance of the mashup. I explained to him how I saw the two songs as complementary, using the Midrash and the Talmudic story of Nachshon ben Aminadav, Aaron's brother-in-law, as a metaphor for the bravery and resilience of Black people and the struggle to survive. 

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This week's Torah portion, Bo, discusses the final plagues that God inflicted upon Egypt, ultimately leading to the liberation of the Israelites from slavery. As we head into Shabbat, it is important to reflect on the theme of freedom and the struggle for liberation. Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day, and serves as a reminder of the atrocities committed by the Nazis in Hitler's Germany and the importance of remembering those who suffered and those who were murdered. It also serves as a call to action to work towards preventing future acts of genocide and discrimination. Let us be mindful of the ongoing struggles for freedom and dignity in our world, and commit ourselves to work towards a more just and equitable society.