Rabbi Alan Lucas

Picture of The Observant Life (Book)
The Observant Life: The Wisdom of Conservative Judaism for Contemporary Jews distills a century of thoughtful inquiry into the most profound of all Jewish questions: how to suffuse life with timeless values, how to remain loyal to the covenant that binds the Jewish people and the God of Israel, and how to embrace the law while retaining an abiding sense of fidelity to one’s own moral path in life. Written in a multiplicity of voices inspired by a common vision, the authors of The Observant Life explain what it means in the ultimate sense to live a Jewish life, and to live it honestly, morally, and purposefully. The work is a comprehensive guide to life in the 21st Century. Chapters on Jewish rituals including prayer, holiday, life cycle events and Jewish ethics such as citizenship, slander, taxes, wills, the courts, the work place and so much more.

My Posts

Home and Synagogue Shavuot Observances

Candle-lighting, Torah readings, the Book of Ruth, and Yizkor are all a part of celebrating Shavuot at home and at synagogue.

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Image of mountains with the words What is Shavuot about?

Like Sukkot and Passover, Shavuot is a multi-dimensional holiday, embracing profound historical, spiritual, and agricultural aspects.

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Blurry image of a calendar on the right with the words to the left that read: What is Counting the Omer

Counting the omer reflects the agricultural dimension of Passover and Shavuot and this is how we observe sefirat haomer today.

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Blurry image of an open ark with four Torahs and the words: The Concluding Days of Passover

What do we do in synagogue on Passover? What Torah readings and haftarot do we read? We outline that for you here.

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Blurry image of an open ark with four Torahs and the words: Passover in the Synagogue

What do we do in synagogue on Passover? What Torah readings and haftarot do we read? We outline that for you here.

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blurry image of lots of bread with the words What is hameitz and what do we do with it?

Hametz, is defined as any food made of wheat, barley, oats, spelt, and rye—that has been made wet and left unbaked for more than 18 minutes.

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Image of matzah, matzah cover with the word pesah on it in hebrew, and a kiddush cup with the words: Passover, Nisan, and the Fast of the Firstborn: Before Passover Begins

Passover, commemorates the exodus from Egypt. On a spiritual level, the festival confronts us with the notion of redemption.

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Image of a seder plate with the words The Seder an overview

The Passover seder is the cumulative result of untold generations of Jews telling the same story, the Exodus from Egypt.

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image of bread roll for eiruv tavshilin

One is only permitted to cook on festivals to make food for the holiday itself, not for other days. There is an exception: eiruv tavshilin.

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