Recent Entries

• Do not worry

  by Pastor Gerry Diamond June 12, 2022
  Do not worry about anything, but in everything, but prayer with thanksgiving, bring your requests to God.And God’s peace, which is far beyond human understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with Christ Jesus.And so, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, ...

• LENT 1

  by Pastor Gerry Diamond February 22, 2018
  Lent 1   TEMPTATION: THE REFINER’S FIRE   Gold refining   Are you wearing something gold – a ring maybe? Do you know how it got to be shiny and smart, rather than a muddy piece of rock? You can get gold that is 99.9% pure by putting it into an electrolyte bath and ap...

• What is Rosh Hashanah? Sep 13 to 15th

  by Pastor Gerry Diamond September 6, 2015
  The festival of Rosh Hashanah—the name means “Head of the Year”—is observed for two days beginning on 1 Tishrei, the first day of the Jewish year. It is the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, and their first actions toward the realization of...

• Can a square fit into a circle?

  by Pastor Gerry Diamond November 17, 2014
    Dear reader, Anne aspired to work in the modeling field. She realized, however, that even if she lost the requisite pounds, she couldn’t grow the necessary inch. Her face, too, while striking and exotic, lacked the symmetry that defined conventional beauty.   Sam was a bright b...

• Read to your Children; it's Good for You

  by Pastor Gerry Diamond June 15, 2014
  We have a children's library in our home. Our children are grown and now it's our grandchildren who enjoy it. Typically, lastChanukah as our family was sharing a festive evening of traditional song and holiday food, one ten-year-old granddaughter was conspicuously absent from the fun and games....

• Families to gather in synagogues to hear the Ten Commandments

  by Pastor Gerry Diamond June 3, 2014
  The cows were milked more than a month ago, the special batch of koshercheese has finished fermenting, the mouth-watering cheesecakes have been ordered from Israel, and the handouts for the Torah study are already copied and collated. Like thousands of Chabad emissaries...

• The Essence Of Choice

  by Pastor Gerry Diamond May 24, 2014
  You have chosen us from all the nations; You loved us and desired us. You raised us above all tongues and sanctified us through Your commandments... (Siddur, mussaf prayer for the festivals)   [Freedom of] choice has been granted to every man... This concept is a fundamental pr...

• What Is Lag BaOmer?

  by Pastor Gerry Diamond May 18, 2014
    Lag BaOmer, the 33rd day of theOmer count—this year, Sunday, May 18, 2014—is a festive day on theJewish calendar. It is celebrated with outings (on which the children traditionally play with bows and arrows), bonfires, and other joyous events. Many visit the resting place ...

• What is the Kaddish? ...and why is it so important?

  by Pastor Gerry Diamond May 18, 2014
  Just when His great masterpiece of heaven and earth was finally up and running, G_d realized there was something missing: The autograph. Without an autograph, the creatures of this world might take life, beauty, pleasure and all the other amenities of existence for granted. They could f...

• All About Jewish Names

  by Pastor Gerry Diamond May 15, 2014
  Names are more than convenient labels; going by your Jewish name is a statement of pride in your Jewish heritage. The Jews of ancient Egypt, tradition tells us, kept their Jewish names. That’s one of the ways they remained a cohesive people and merited redemption.   There’s more: ...
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• Blessing For Passover & Easter

  by Pastor Gerry Diamond April 19, 2014
  Every year, as Passover and Easter approach, it's my custom and honor and joy to wish Passover and Easter blessings to all my Jewish and Christian readers. This year, I'm including three very different blessings about the same holidays. One is for all my readers who celebrate Passover, one for ...

• What is Passover April 14-22nd

  by Pastor Gerry Diamond April 18, 2014
  What Is Passover? The holiday’s history and observance 18     The eight-day festival of Passover is celebrated in the early spring, from the 15th through the 22nd of the Hebrew month of Nissan. It commemorates th...
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• How to Intervene When You Witness a Wrong

  by Pastor Gerry Diamond April 12, 2014
  Sitting in a restaurant in New York City, I noticed a family eating at a table next to me. "How sweet," I thought, "a nice couple taking out their three children on a beautiful night." Until I noticed something very disturbing: The father was berating his young child, maybe 9-10 year old, and sudden...

• The Gossiper & The Priest

  by Pastor Gerry Diamond March 30, 2014
  Two men asked him for a loan. He gave them both a generous sum on condition that he’d be repaid in a year’s time. A year later the debtors returned. One looked broke. “Unfortunately, I do not have the money to repay you,” he began. “Honestly, it was so liberating t...

• From Jewish Passover to Christian Eucharist: The Todah

  by Pastor Gerry Diamond March 23, 2014
  Scholars have often wondered how the practice of Christian Eucharist could have arisen from the Lord’s Supper, which occurred in the context of the Jewish Passover. Since Passover occurs only once a year, how is it that the Christians got the notion that they could celebrate Jesus’ sacri...

• What is Shabbat?

  by Pastor Gerry Diamond March 22, 2014
  Shabbat is Rest: Shabbat is an island of tranquility in the maelstrom of work, anxiety, struggle and tribulation that characterizes our daily lives for the other six days of the week. For approximately 25 hours each week, the world literally comes to a halt: the business is closed, the car...

• What Does Judaism Say About Taking Revenge?

  by Pastor Gerry Diamond March 19, 2014
  Thou shall not take revenge… — Leviticus 19:18 What is taking revenge? Taking revenge is when you ask someone, “Lend me your sickle,” and he says no. The next day he comes to you and asks you “Lend me your hatchet.” You respond, “I am ...

• How Does 'Forgiveness' Work?

  by Pastor Gerry Diamond March 18, 2014
  Question:   Lately I have been having a lot of confusion trying to figure out if and how G-d can forgive people of their sins. Suppose someone sins by killing another person or setting someone's house on fire, and then that person genuinely repents and desires to do all that he/she ...
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• Torah Reading for Shemini Leviticus 9:1-11:47

  by Pastor Gerry Diamond March 16, 2014
  Chapter 9 1. And it was on the eighth day, that Moses summoned Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel.     א. וַיְהִי בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁמִינִי קָרָא משֶׁה לְאַהֲרֹן וּלְבָנָיו וּלְזִקְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל: And it was on the eighth day: of the in...

• Daily Thelim-Psalms CH:66-68

  by Pastor Gerry Diamond March 14, 2014

• Daily Thelim Chapters 66-68

  by Pastor Gerry Diamond March 14, 2014
  Chapter 66 This psalm describes the praises and awe-inspiring prayers that we will offer God upon the ingathering of the exiles. 1. For the Conductor, a song, a psalm. Raise your voices in jubilation to God, all the earth!2. Sing the glory of His Name; make glorious His praise.3....

• What is Purim?

  by Pastor Gerry Diamond March 14, 2014
  The festival of Purim is celebrated every year on the 14th of the Hebrew month of Adar (late winter/early spring). It commemorates the salvation of the Jewish people in ancient Persia from Haman’s plot “to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews, young and old,...

• What Does it Mean to “Believe in G‑d”?

  by Pastor Gerry Diamond March 9, 2014
    Even the honest atheist will agree that a first cause, an original being, must have preceded the universe. This original cause or source is what so humbled Einstein, although he incorrectly described it as a religious experience. The questions of faith begin with how we understand ...

• Daily Tehillim - Psalms Chapters 35-38

  by Pastor Gerry Diamond March 8, 2014
  Chapter 35 This psalm is an awe-inspiring and wondrous prayer about David's enemies-that they be as chaff before the wind, chased by the angel of God. It also declares that everything comes about through God's help. 1. By David. Fight my antagonists, O Lord, battle those who battle against...
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• Daily Tehillim - Psalms Chapters 35-38

  by Pastor Gerry Diamond March 8, 2014

• Don't Tell Me To Cheer Up!

  by Pastor Gerry Diamond March 5, 2014
  You are walking down the street when you pass an old friend whose head is down, a deep frown etched on her face. You instinctively say to her, “Cheer up,” hoping to lift her spirits. Well, it won’t. It will, however, make her angry, frustrated and more depressed. You are being an ...
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