Judaism trains our minds to frame what could otherwise be unremarkable moments and transform them into sacred occasions. On a January morning in 2007, in the middle of rush hour, a young man stepped out of a subway train into L’Enfant Plaza Station in Washington DC and positioned himself against a wall near a trash [...]
Parashat Massei 5771 / July 30, 2011 I vaguely remember an ad campaign back in the 1980s sponsored by the Israel Ministry of Tourism with the slogan “Israel is Real.” Like most commercials for tourism to Israel, it depicted beautiful scenery and ancient landmarks, but it also featured Israelis living their lives – couples walking [...]
Parashat Vayera 5771 This week, Andrea Jacobs, a reporter from the Intermountain Jewish News, interviewed me for a story she’s writing. She’s talking to rabbis from different movements to get our take on whether Jews should celebrate Halloween. I gave her my official rabbinic line: Halloween clearly has roots in paganism. It is a holiday [...]
Rabbi Salomon Gruenwald has served as the Associate Rabbi of Congregation HEA in Denver, CO since his ordination from the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies in Los Angeles in 2008. He also serves as a volunteer chaplain with the Denver Police Department. He and his spouse, Melanie Gruenwald, have three children.
