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Articles by Steven Wernick
At the Junction of Simchah and Tza’ar
I came to Israel this week for a wedding. Jennifer and I have been friends since grade 7. Over the decades we have shared simchas and sorrows, more of both than either of us could have imagined as kids. On Tuesday night her son was married. She has six children, and this was her first wedding. She is in remission, thank God. When she saw me, she hugged me in a way that said everything. I was just as glad to be there. I watched the glass shatter under the chuppah. A moment later, everyone was dancing.
The Theft of the Story
This past Shabbat we read Parashat Noah, and the eleventh verse stopped me cold. Va-tishachet ha-aretz lifnei ha-Elohim, va-timalei ha-aretz chamas. “The earth became corrupt before God; the earth was filled with lawlessness.” (Genesis 6:11) The Hebrew word for lawlessness is hamas. Since October 2023, no Jew can read it without flinching. The group that slaughtered 1,200 people and took 251 hostages carries the name of the sin that brought the Flood. I want to be careful here.
The Theft of the Story
The Theft of the Story This past Shabbat we read Parashat Noah, and the eleventh verse stopped me cold. Va-tishachet ha-aretz lifnei ha-Elohim, va-timalei ha-aretz …
Three Years After October 7, We Remember
A medieval parable about not letting go, and what bereaved Israeli families are teaching us about it. Tomorrow marks three years since October 7. For many Jews, the anniversary has already come. On the Hebrew calendar in the Diaspora, the massacre fell on Shemini Atzeret, the festival at the end of Sukkot; in Israel, that same day is Simchat Torah. This year the date, the 22nd of Tishrei, fell last Shabbat.
We Do Not Abandon the Dying
Last week, the Vaad HaRabbanim of Toronto circulated a letter to the Jewish community. It declared that Orthodox rabbis will not officiate at funerals for patients who choose MAiD. Burial plots in their synagogues’ sections will be refused. The letter cites wilful suicide, invokes the prohibition on murder, and draws on serious halachic tradition. I have read it carefully.
We Do Not Abandon the Dying
Last week, the Vaad HaRabbanim of Toronto circulated a letter to the Jewish community. It declared that Orthodox rabbis will not officiate at funerals for patients who choose MAiD. Burial plots in their synagogues’ sections will be refused. The letter cites wilful suicide, invokes the prohibition on murder, and draws on serious halachic tradition. I have read it carefully.
A rabbi and a shofar walk into a church…
In the raw, disoriented days following the Hamas massacre of October 7th, something happened at Timothy Eaton Memorial Church on St. Clair Avenue that members of my congregation, Beth Tzedec, still talk about. The Rev. Jason Byassee called me. Not to express condolences through proper channels. Not to issue a statement. Jason called me — my friend Jason, the theologian and pastor who leads one of Toronto’s most storied Protestant congregations — and said: We need to be together. Bring your people.
A rabbi and a shofar walk into a church…
In the raw, disoriented days following the Hamas massacre of October 7th, something happened at Timothy Eaton Memorial Church on St. Clair Avenue that members of my congregation, Beth Tzedec, still talk about. The Rev. Jason Byassee called me. Not to express condolences through proper channels. Not to issue a statement. Jason called me — my friend Jason, the theologian and pastor who leads one of Toronto’s most storied Protestant congregations — and said: We need to be together. Bring your people.
Peace will yet come. And until it does, we sing
Last night I sat among more than eight thousand people in the TD Coliseum in Hamilton as three thousand young athletes from across the world marched in to open the JCC Maccabi Games — a festival of sport, of peoplehood, of Jewish values worn with pride rather than apology. There was joy the size of a stadium. And there was memory. We paused for the eleven Israeli athletes murdered in Munich in 1972, and for the wound still open in all of us since October 7. Grief and celebration in the same breath.
Peace will yet come. And until it does, we sing
Last night I sat among more than eight thousand people in the TD Coliseum in Hamilton as three thousand young athletes from across the world marched in to open the JCC Maccabi Games — a festival of sport, of peoplehood, of Jewish values worn with pride rather than apology. There was joy the size of a stadium. And there was memory. We paused for the eleven Israeli athletes murdered in Munich in 1972, and for the wound still open in all of us since October 7. Grief and celebration in the same breath.
A Mourning Text Became a Morning Prayer
Robert Brym and Rhonda Lenton open their new study with a sentence that should stop every Canadian Jew cold: the golden age of Canadian Jewry ran from the early 1960s to the early 2020s, and it is over. Their (Canadian Jewish Studies, vol. 44) surveyed more than three thousand Canadians, six hundred of them Jews. Eighty-eight percent of Canadian Jews now say they feel less safe here than five years ago; two years ago it was sixty-three.
A Mourning Text Became a Morning Prayer
Robert Brym and Rhonda Lenton open their new study with a sentence that should stop every Canadian Jew cold: the golden age of Canadian Jewry ran from the early 1960s to the early 2020s, and it is over. Their Canadian Jewish Barometer 2026 (Canadian Jewish Studies, vol. 44) surveyed more than three thousand Canadians, six hundred of them Jews. Eighty-eight percent of Canadian Jews now say they feel less safe here than five years ago; two years ago it was sixty-three.
Where the Challenge Left Me
Here is the land as two families remember it. Khaled’s family lost their home in 1948, driven from their village near Beit Jibrin, and rebuilt in Gush Etzion. In 1967 they were driven out of Gush Etzion itself, fled to Jordan, and resettled a third time in Beit Ummar. In those same hills, a Jewish community had been under siege since the partition vote, and on May 13, 1948 — the day before Israel declared independence — its defenders surrendered and were massacred.
Where the Challenge Left Me
Here is the land as two families remember it. Khaled’s family lost their home in 1948, driven from their village near Beit Jibrin, and rebuilt in Gush Etzion. In 1967 they were driven out of Gush Etzion itself, fled to Jordan, and resettled a third time in Beit Ummar. In those same hills, a Jewish community had been under siege since the partition vote, and on May 13, 1948 — the day before Israel declared independence — its defenders surrendered and were massacred.
The Road that Made You
June 29 I turned 59. I don’t say that for birthday wishes — though I received them gratefully. I say it because birthdays do something to rabbis. They make the text personal whether we want it to or not. Last week was Parashat Pinchas — the 46th anniversary of my Bar Mitzvah parashah. This week is Matot-Masei. And somewhere in the movement between those two parshiyot I found myself thinking about stops on a map. The old AAA TripTik. The road that made you.
The Road that Made You
I don’t say that for birthday wishes — though I received them gratefully. I say it because birthdays do something to rabbis. They make the text personal whether we want it to or not. Last week was Parashat Pinchas — the 46th anniversary of my Bar Mitzvah parashah. This week is Matot-Masei. And somewhere in the movement between those two parshiyot I found myself thinking about stops on a map. The old AAA TripTik. The road that made you.
On the Eve of 1,000 Days, a Cornerstone
Please note that the posts on The Blogs are contributed by third parties. The opinions, facts and any media content in them are presented solely by the authors, and neither The Times of Israel nor its partners assume any responsibility for them. Please contact us in case of abuse. In case of abuse, Report this post. The oldest (in background) and newest members of Kibbutz Ein HaShlosha (Courtesy) This week I am in Tel Aviv for the Jewish Agency Board of Governors meeting.
Korach’s Grammar Is Everywhere Right Now
The Torah portion we read yesterday opens with one of the most seductive arguments in all of Jewish literature. Korach comes to Moses with a seemingly airtight legal puzzle. A widow lives in a house filled entirely with techelet — the sacred blue wool of tzitzit. Does she still need a mezuzah on her doorpost? Her home is already wholly sanctified. What could one small scroll add? And a tallit woven entirely of blue — does it still need a single blue thread at its corner?
Korach’s Grammar Is Everywhere Right Now
The Torah portion we read yesterday opens with one of the most seductive arguments in all of Jewish literature. Korach comes to Moses with a seemingly airtight legal puzzle. A widow lives in a house filled entirely with techelet — the sacred blue wool of tzitzit. Does she still need a mezuzah on her doorpost? Her home is already wholly sanctified. What could one small scroll add? And a tallit woven entirely of blue — does it still need a single blue thread at its corner?
We Are Not Grasshoppers
Last Sunday, sixty thousand people filled Bathurst Street in Toronto — parents and students, Holocaust survivors in wheelchairs, clergy from communities not our own. The sound of Am Yisrael Chai rose over the city. I felt something I had not felt in a long time: we are not alone. We are many. We are powerful. And then I opened Twitter. Someone had responded to my post about the Walk for Israel with five words and a sneer: “This is a community that is afraid?!” Sixty thousand strong. Allies everywhere.
We Are Not Grasshoppers
Last Sunday, sixty thousand people filled Bathurst Street in Toronto — parents and students, Holocaust survivors in wheelchairs, clergy from communities not our own. The sound of Am Yisrael Chai rose over the city. I felt something I had not felt in a long time: we are not alone. We are many. We are powerful. And then I opened Twitter. Someone had responded to my post about the Walk for Israel with five words and a sneer: “This is a community that is afraid?!” Sixty thousand strong. Allies everywhere.
Anatevka Had No Fourth Path. We Do.
Monday night I saw Fiddler on the Roof. In Yiddish. Part of it was intellectual curiosity. Yiddish was the lingua franca of that world. Sholem Aleichem wrote in Yiddish. Tevye der Milkhiker — Tevye the Dairyman — was born in Yiddish. Hearing it in the original felt like something I owed to history. I was not prepared for what it would do to me. Most people know Fiddler from the 1971 film — warm, elegiac, bittersweet. But Sholem Aleichem’s original Tevye stories are darker than that. Much darker.
They Argue Narrative. We Argue Fact. What Torah Knew
At our Tikkun Layl Shavuot last week, Bruce Elman — a retired law professor and dean, an expert on Constitutional law — asked a deceptively simple question: Why does the Ninth Commandment use two different words? In Shemot, the prohibition reads: Lo ta’aneh b’re’aykha eyd sheker — “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour” — using sheker, a deliberate falsehood, an outright lie.
Tzedek Tzedek Tirdof: Two Reports, One Standard
Please note that the posts on The Blogs are contributed by third parties. The opinions, facts and any media content in them are presented solely by the authors, and neither The Times of Israel nor its partners assume any responsibility for them. Please contact us in case of abuse. In case of abuse, Report this post. Used with permission from Dr. Cochav Elkayim Levy Tzedek tzedek tirdof. “Justice, justice you shall pursue” (Devarim 16:20). The rabbis ask: why is tzedek doubled?
The Mountain Doesn’t Blink. Neither Do We.
Last Thursday night, Beth Tzedec hosted a panel that gave urgent shape to questions this Shabbat’s Torah portion has been asking all along. Bruce Elman, Co-Chair of CIJA’s Legal Task Force and a member of our own Board; Mark Ross of the LTF Steering Committee; and Noah Shack, CEO of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, sat together and laid out plainly what the Jewish legal community is doing to combat antisemitism in Canada.
Ancient Alliance: What Jewish & Persian Students Know
Please note that the posts on The Blogs are contributed by third parties. The opinions, facts and any media content in them are presented solely by the authors, and neither The Times of Israel nor its partners assume any responsibility for them. Please contact us in case of abuse. In case of abuse, Report this post. Not all distance is the same. There is the distance of genuine conflict — of peoples whose interests are irreconcilable, whose histories are defined by what each has done to the other.
The yellow candle and the price of fear
Every year, in the days before Yom HaShoah, members of Beth Tzedec’s Men’s Club deliver yellow yahrzeit candles to the doors of Jewish homes across our neighborhood. Beth Tzedec helped found this practice. It is now observed by Jewish communities around the world. The candle arrives in a yellow bag. On the bag: the word JUDE. A Magen David wrapped in barbed wire. The symbolism is intentional and exact. Yellow — the color the Nazis forced Jews to wear as a badge of humiliation.
What We Do When We Open the Door?
Please note that the posts on The Blogs are contributed by third parties. The opinions, facts and any media content in them are presented solely by the authors, and neither The Times of Israel nor its partners assume any responsibility for them. Please contact us in case of abuse. In case of abuse, Report this post. A Reflection for Shabbat Hagadol: There is a moment at every Passover seder that no one fully rehearses. The meal is winding down. The children are restless.
30 Percent More Showed Up. Antisemites, Take Note
The rabbis of the Mishnah preserved a teaching that has always guided me: “Mitchalmidai yoter mikkulam” — from my students I have learned more than from all others. That teaching arrived with fresh force this week through Dan Stern, one of the lay leaders on Beth Tzedec’s board of directors. We have just concluded the readings about the Mishkan — the portable sanctuary our ancestors carried through the wilderness.
Three Synagogues in One Week. Canada, This Is Your Crisis Too.
This post is co-written by Rev. Jason Byassee, Senior Pastor of Timothy Eaton Memorial Church, Toronto and Rev. David Lamour is Senior Pastor of King Street Community Church, Oshawa. Three Toronto-area synagogues. One week. That is where we are. A week ago Monday, shots were fired at Temple Emanu-El in North York, hours after families had gathered there with their children for Purim celebrations.
Inside the palace and far away: The megillah’s emotional range
I sent a note to friends in Israel this week. I shared something I’d written about Purim — about living with uncertainty, the emotional whiplash of following news from a distance, the anxiety of not knowing how the story turns. I wanted them to know they weren’t alone. Their responses taught me something I hadn’t expected. The first came from a friend who has lived in Israel for decades. She was generous with my words, but honest: “They do not capture the reigning sentiment here. We are buoyant.
The Blogs: The Kotel Belongs to All of US
Please note that the posts on The Blogs are contributed by third parties. The opinions, facts and any media content in them are presented solely by the authors, and neither The Times of Israel nor its partners assume any responsibility for them. Please contact us in case of abuse. In case of abuse, Report this post.
The Blogs: Toward a More Decent Society: Tragedy in Tumbler Ridge
Please note that the posts on The Blogs are contributed by third parties. The opinions, facts and any media content in them are presented solely by the authors, and neither The Times of Israel nor its partners assume any responsibility for them. Please contact us in case of abuse. In case of abuse, Report this post. This grab from video shows students exiting the Tumbler Ridge school after deadly shootings, in British Columbia, Canada, Tuesday Feb. 10, 2026.
The Blogs: MAiD, Halakhah, and the Bedside
Please note that the posts on The Blogs are contributed by third parties. The opinions, facts and any media content in them are presented solely by the authors, and neither The Times of Israel nor its partners assume any responsibility for them. Please contact us in case of abuse. In case of abuse, Report this post. Jewish Biomedical Ethics created by ChatGPT There is a moment in Jewish life when law feels clear — and life does not.
The Blogs: Mordechai or Esther? Israel’s Next Chapter
Please note that the posts on The Blogs are contributed by third parties. The opinions, facts and any media content in them are presented solely by the authors, and neither The Times of Israel nor its partners assume any responsibility for them. Please contact us in case of abuse. In case of abuse, Report this post. Never Forget QR Code Bracelet. (courtesy) It happened over lunch.
The Blogs: We Leave No One Behind: Ran G, Tears Shed Together
Please note that the posts on The Blogs are contributed by third parties. The opinions, facts and any media content in them are presented solely by the authors, and neither The Times of Israel nor its partners assume any responsibility for them. Please contact us in case of abuse. In case of abuse, Report this post. This morning in Israel felt different. Quiet. Heavy. Tender. The kind of moment that lives more in breath than in headlines.
The Blogs: Rabbis Can’t Lead Alone — And Shouldn’t
For years, conversations about the future of the rabbinate have been framed as a crisis of calling. We worry that fewer young people are drawn to rabbinic life, that the work has become unsustainable, or that charisma has replaced substance as the defining measure of success. The unspoken assumption is that if only we could find more inspiring rabbis, or train them better, Jewish communal life would right itself.
The Blogs: Exodus and the Illusion of Unchecked Power
The Torah’s foundational political insight is simple and unsettling: power cannot be allowed to police itself. That insight emerges most clearly in the Exodus narrative. Pharaoh is not portrayed as chaotic or irrational. He believes he is moral. He believes order depends on him. He believes his authority is necessary and therefore justified. The Torah introduces Pharaoh not as a monster, but as a ruler who has confused power with righteousness (Exodus 1–6). God’s response is not merely to free slaves.
Steven C. Wernick's Blog
Rabbi Steven C. Wernick is the Anne and Max Tanenbaum Senior Rabbi of Congregation Beth Tzedec in Toronto. He writes about Jewish values, leadership, peoplehood, and Israel, inviting thoughtful conversation in moments of moral complexity and uncertainty. Rabbi Wernick is a Jewish communal leader who has been named one of Newsweek’s 50 Most Influential Rabbis in America and was on the Forward's List of 50 Influential Jewish Leaders.
The Blogs: What a Coffee Shop Has Taught Me About Zionism Right Now
Please note that the posts on The Blogs are contributed by third parties. The opinions, facts and any media content in them are presented solely by the authors, and neither The Times of Israel nor its partners assume any responsibility for them. Please contact us in case of abuse. In case of abuse, Report this post.
I showed up for Shabbat in Pittsburgh
It was like entering one big shiva house. Not only is the Jewish community in shock and mourning, but the entire city of Pittsburgh is too. You see it on people’s faces. You hear it in their speech. You feel it in their hugs. The shock of the horrific anti-Semitic murders that took place the previous Shabbat is not limited to Pittsburgh.
Embracing Paternity Leave: A Father’s Sabbatical Can be Part of a Successful Career
Steven Wernick, Partner, Akerman, Miami? People thought I was joking when I told them that I was taking four weeks off after my wife and I welcomed our third boy earlier this year. My law career was in full swing. My billable hours were strong. As attorneys, productivity is primarily measured in billable hours. Our time is our most valuable asset. To break away for an entire month would clearly reduce my billable hours for the year. How could I afford to step away from the office for four weeks?
Substantial Income Tax Benefits Await Real Estate Investors In Florida’s Qualified Opportunity Zones | JD Supra
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OP-ED The Conservative movement can, and should, welcome the intermarried
(JTA) — Contemporary Jewish life is graced by extraordinary blessing: We are the heirs of a Torah of compassion and justice that has grown ever more supple and vibrant because of the dynamic nature of halachah (Jewish law) and the opportunity to observe mitzvot (commandments). At the same time, modernity has removed barriers of discrimination and anti-Semitism, as well as opened doors to broader cultural participation and professions previously closed to Jews.
The Conservative movement can, and should, welcome the intermarried
JTA — Contemporary Jewish life is graced by extraordinary blessing: We are the heirs of a Torah of compassion and justice that has grown ever more supple and vibrant because of the dynamic nature of halachah (Jewish law) and the opportunity to observe mitzvot (commandments). At the same time, modernity has removed barriers of discrimination and anti-Semitism, as well as opened doors to broader cultural participation and professions previously closed to Jews.
The Conservative Movement Can, And Should, Welcome The Intermarried
(JTA) — Contemporary Jewish life is graced by extraordinary blessing: We are the heirs of a Torah of compassion and justice that has grown ever more supple and vibrant because of the dynamic nature of halachah (Jewish law) and the opportunity to observe mitzvot (commandments). At the same time, modernity has removed barriers of discrimination and anti-Semitism, as well as opened doors to broader cultural participation and professions previously closed to Jews.
The Conservative movement can, and should, welcome the intermarried
Robert Indiana’s sculpture at the Israel Museum spells out “ahava,” the Hebrew word for love. (Pascal Deloche/Getty Images) (JTA) — Contemporary Jewish life is graced by extraordinary blessing: We are the heirs of a Torah of compassion and justice that has grown ever more supple and vibrant because of the dynamic nature of halachah (Jewish law) and the opportunity to observe mitzvot (commandments).
Irma revealed weaknesses, but presented opportunities to shape a resilient Miami
Entering a City of Miami official’s office recently, I was greeted by two affectionate pups rescued from shelters after being abandoned during Hurricane Irma. In the midst of recovery efforts and growing frustration over extended power outages across Miami, I found a sense of optimism thinking about Miami’s amazing ability to unite, reimagine itself and bounce back. For example, Hurricane Andrew in 1992 ushered in a significant period of economic growth and development.
The future of Conservative Judaism - American Israelite: Opinion
Much has been written and discussed about the state of 21st century Jewry and what to do about it. Ultimately we are all asking a variation of the same question: How do we navigate a rapidly changing world in an authentic way? In his book “Leading from the Emerging Future,” Otto Scharmer argues that our response “requires us to shift the inner place from which we operate.
Conservative Judaism will thrive by focusing on meaning, not membership
The USCJ’s old logo, left, next to its new logo. (USCJ) NEW YORK (JTA) — We are living at a moment of great disruption. We all sense it. We all experience it. It impacts every aspect of our lives — education, economics, politics, social society. Judaism is not immune to these forces.
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