Among Israel’s great patriarchs — Abraham, Isaac and Jacob — Isaac is something of a transitional figure. That doesn’t make him unimportant, but he is transitional. He’s important because he ...

Judaism, Christianity and Islam are called Abrahamic faiths not only because Abraham was the first monotheist but because he was so famously devoted to God. His obedience was so strong that he was ...

I retired from my secular career a year ago this month, and last fall — with all the other kids — I went back to school. In my case, I took two semesters of Biblical Hebrew, the language of the Old ...

Gen. 22: 9.--And they came to the place which God had told them of: and Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order; and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar on the wood.

There's one thing I'm starting to realize about the Old Testament: It's an underrated beach read. Next time you soak in some rays, crack open the Bible and enjoy stories about love, loyalty, rape, ...

This piece was originally delivered as a sermon titled “The Cries of Isaac and Ishmael” at Central Synagogue on the first day of Rosh Hashanah in 2025. I have been a rabbi for 25 years, 20 of them at ...