September 11, 2025

This week has been a profoundly sad one. Today marks the 24th anniversary of the September 11th attacks—a day etched into our collective memory. Most of us remember exactly where we were in 2001, when four coordinated attacks by al-Qaeda claimed the lives of 2,977 innocent people. We honor their memory and pause to reflect on the impact that day continues to have on all of us.

Sadly, yesterday, our nation was again touched by gun violence with the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk during a campus event in Utah, and a tragic incident at a Colorado high school that left two students hospitalized and the shooter dead. Earlier this week, Israel carried out an unprecedented strike on Hamas leadership in Doha, Qatar. The global landscape remains tense and uncertain.

On a personal note, I pause to remember Max Rubinstein. He was my father’s best friend and a second father to me. He passed away this week at the age of 96, and his absence is deeply felt, and it’s made me think about how we show up for each other—not just in grief, but in everyday kindness. I continue to pray for peace—for our communities, our country, and our world.

In these turbulent and unsettling times, it is my honor to work alongside the talented staff of our Adolph & Rose Levis Jewish Community Center to ensure our Levis JCC remains a warm and welcoming place; we are all dedicated to making our campus a haven of excellent programming.Image Last Friday, at our Levis JCC Zale Jammin’ Shabbat, Dr. Emily helped young families welcome the spirit of Shabbat with joyous celebration and song. The Levis JCC Zale fun continued on Monday evening, when forty preschool parents gathered at Lazy Dog for Parents’ Night Out, hosted by our Zale Early Childhood Committee. It’s wonderful to see our young families making connections inside the classroom and through special events and programs.

This week's Torah portion is Ki Tavo (When You Come) in the book of Deuteronomy, the fifth and final book of the Five Books of Moses. In it, Moses tells the people that only now – forty years after their initial birth as a people – do they have “a heart to know, eyes to see and ears to hear.” Perhaps after 24 years since the tragedy of 9/11 and after almost two years of war resulting from the Hamas attacks on Israel, and after countless violent incidents, we too will be blessed with hearts to know, eyes to see and ears to hear so that we can all live together in peace.

Light Shabbat candles Friday evening at 7:12 pm.
Shabbat ends Saturday evening at 8:01 pm.

Shabbat Shalom
Am Yisrael Chai!

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Marty