Rachel Kaplan & HaGal Sheli (My Wave)

In this deeply moving episode of Torah From Boca, Rabbi David Baum is joined by Rachel Kaplan, a senior leader at HaGal Sheli – My Wave, an Israeli nonprofit using surf therapy to support youth at risk, trauma survivors, displaced families, and communities coping with PTSD — especially in the aftermath of October 7. Rachel focuses on partnerships and international outreach, helping connect HaGal Sheli’s life-changing work in Israel with Jewish communities and supporters around the world.

Originally from the United States and now based in Tel Aviv, she brings together a background in international relations with a profound belief in the healing power of the ocean.

Through her leadership and advocacy, HaGal Sheli has emerged as a powerful model of resilience — using the rhythm of the sea to help people regain strength, confidence, and hope when the ground beneath them no longer feels stable.

🌊 In this conversation, we explore:

• Healing and trauma through embodied, relational work

• What resilience looks like after October 7

• Why the ocean can become sacred space

• How Jewish communities abroad can meaningfully partner in healing

🎥 Also included in this post: A powerful video from Zikim, capturing the return of Israeli hostages — moments filled with relief, sorrow, love, and collective breath. These scenes remind us that redemption is rarely simple, but it is deeply human and profoundly holy.

🔗 Videos featured: • Torah From Boca — Rachel Kaplan & HaGal Sheli: https://youtu.be/U1Zk0RFhJKw

• Zikim — Hostage Returnees: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNM2_kdz1lw

🙏 Support this holy work: If this conversation resonates with you and you would like to help sustain healing and resilience in Israel, please consider supporting HaGal Sheli – My Wave: 👉 Donate here:

https://donate.stripe.com/eVabLa8Ac5EN5fa144

In this episode of Torah from Boca, Rabbi David Baum reflects on Parashat Va’eira through the lens of the moment we’re living in — a time when it can feel like one battle follows another.

Beginning with a headline that hits uncomfortably close to home, Rabbi Baum explores recent acts of antisemitism alongside the Torah’s account of the plagues of Egypt. Why does Pharaoh grow more hardened with each blow? And what does Rashi teach us about the difference between becoming “battle-hardened” and losing our moral freedom?

Drawing on Pirkei Avot and a deeply personal story of mitzvah and memory, this episode asks a powerful question: when darkness multiplies, how do we ensure that goodness does too?

A thoughtful and timely reflection on resilience, responsibility, and the quiet power of choosing action over despair — one mitzvah at a time.

https://youtu.be/E4Lo5kYf57A

💀 What Zombie shows reveals about compassion fatigue, psychic numbing, and how Torah teaches us to remember. #Shoftim #parashahoftheweek

What does #thewalkingdead teach us about compassion in a world that grows numb? Think of Sheriff Rick Grimes. In the first episode, he honors the fallen stranger ("we will always remember him") before his empathy fades. Likewise, our hearts risk hardening in the face of relentless tragedy. This sermon explores how constant exposure to mass shootings and global horrors leads to compassion fatigue—as described in NPR’s  “Another Mass Shooting? ‘Compassion Fatigue’ Is a Natural Reaction” and psychic numbing, which was unpacked by the APA in their article “COVID-19 & Psychic Numbing.”

Together, they demonstrate how numbers can often overshadow human stories. Torah offers a different way forward. Through Ramban’s vision of “circumcising the heart,” the haunting ritual of the Eglah Arufah, Seforno’s call to spare the trees, and Ibn Ezra’s demand for a culture that cherishes life, Judaism insists that every individual soul matters—even amid war. This week, we speak the names of Harper Lillian Moyski (10) and Fletcher Merkel (8)—two children whose lives cannot be reduced to statistics. In Elul, may we resist numbness, remember the names, and soften our hearts—so compassion remains our sacred response.

📖 Texts: Deuteronomy 21 (Eglah Arufah), Ramban, Seforno, Ibn Ezra, Mishnah Sanhedrin Articles

📰: Another Mass Shooting? ‘Compassion Fatigue’ Is a Natural Reaction” - https://www.npr.org/sections/health-s...

Paul Slovic observes the ‘psychic numbing’ of COVID-19 - https://www.apa.org/members/content/c...

🕯️ Remembering: Harper Lillian Moyski (10) & Fletcher Merkel (8)

➡️ Watch to discover how Torah challenges us to resist numbness, remember names, and soften our hearts in a world that too often forgets.

https://youtu.be/ES6VfgI4FGk?si=xwBOmw6JgxtkjLJ3

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Jim Morrison once sang, “When you’re strange, no one remembers your name.” This week in Parashat Eikev, I reflect on how the Torah commands us to do the opposite: to remember and to love the stranger, because we ourselves were strangers in Egypt. I share why this mitzvah is the most repeated in the Torah, how it speaks to today’s epidemic of loneliness, and what it means to build a Jewish community where no one is left unseen or forgotten.

Click here for the YouTube version 

This week, Torah, holiday, and my own life all aligned. Parashat Va’etchanan commands us to love God with all our heart, soul, and might. The Jewish calendar gave us Tu B’Av, our festival of love, and on top of that, it’s our 19th wedding anniversary.

In this episode, I revisit my original “Love Is a Verb” sermon from years ago, adding new insights from Jewish tradition, Steven Covey, Rabbi Shai Held, and the changes I’ve seen in relationships today, including the so-called Gen Z “Sex Depression” courtesy of Dr. Jean Twenge's research in her book Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents―and What They Mean for America's Future. 

We’ll talk about how real love, whether for a spouse, a friend, a community, or God, isn’t just a feeling you wait to happen — it’s something you practice every single day through giving, serving, forgiving, and showing up.

“Silence is complicity” is a phrase I’ve heard a lot lately — especially when it comes to Israel, Gaza, and our own Jewish community. But what if the real danger isn’t silence, but how we speak?

This week we open a new book of Torah, Deuteronomy, or Devarim. In the very first words of the book, Moshe offers a model: he delivers hard truths, but he does it in a way that protects dignity and keeps the community together.

In this episode, I talk about the mitzvah of tochecha/rebuke and what it means to criticize with both courage and compassion. We’ll wrestle with the tension between universal and particular values, the dangers of public shaming, and why love must come before judgment. This is about learning to speak so that even when we disagree, we stay family.

War and Peace: What Aaron’s Staff Can Teach Us After the Twelve-Day War

In this episode of Torah from Boca, I reflect on the recent Twelve-Day War between Israel, the United States, and Iran—a conflict that many are already calling a modern miracle. But what does it mean to witness a miracle in real time? And how do we respond to it, not just with gratitude, but with responsibility?

Rather than focusing on the dramatic punishment of Korach in this week’s parashah, I explore the quieter, more enduring miracle of Aaron’s staff—how it sprouted, blossomed, and bore almonds overnight. What powerful lessons can we learn from this small miracle amidst the turmoil of conflict? 

What tools do we need—not just to win battles, but to build peace? Join me as I explore what Aaron’s staff can teach us about leadership, healing, and the harder, holier work that comes after the fighting ends.

Click Here to Read the Transcript

The Strength to Step Back: What My Shtender Taught Me About Leadership

Parashat Shelach Lecha 2025/5785

In this episode of Torah from Boca, I share the story behind my humble wooden shtender—purchased in a basement shop in Jerusalem—and the verse I had engraved on it: “Moses was very humble, more than any man on earth.” That verse has shaped how I strive to lead.

Drawing on Parashat Shelach Lecha, we explore how true leadership is not always about being the loudest voice in the room. It's about knowing when to speak—and when to make space for others to rise. From Moses to Hillel, from Caleb and Joshua to the leaders of today, we look at the sacred dance of humility and courage.

Because sometimes, leadership isn’t about stepping up—it’s about stepping back.

Torah from Boca – Episode Title: How a Two-Week Trip to Volunteer In Israel After October 7 Changed My Life with Yocheved Ruttenberg

In this powerful episode of Torah from Boca, Rabbi David Baum speaks with Yocheved, founder and CEO of the Sword of Iron Israel Volunteer Corp—the fastest-growing grassroots volunteer movement to emerge in the wake of October 7.

What began as a two-week mission—armed with 23 duffel bags of donated supplies—became a life-altering journey of Aliyah and purpose. Yocheved shares how she left behind a sales career in Dallas, Texas, and committed herself entirely to the people of Israel. Since then, her organization has mobilized over 40,000 volunteers globally, bridging communities and sparking a worldwide wave of action and unity.

Listen in as we explore the sacred responsibility of showing up, the courage to start something new, and how Torah values come to life through acts of hesed, leadership, and resilience.

Click Here For Video Version

Click Here to Support Sword of Iron or learn more

Click Here To Read About Yocheved's Incredible Story

🎙️ Torah From Boca — Episode Title: Fear Builds Encampments. Love Builds Community; Our Choice Encampment or Community?

I originally planned to give this teaching in light of what’s happening here in the United States—the immigration raids, ICE deportations of undocumented individuals, and the protests that have erupted in response, some of which turned chaotic and violent. I wanted to bring Torah into that conversation, to explore how we, as Jewish-Americans, think about “outsiders,” borders, and the kind of society we want to build as a minority ourselves. 

But then, everything shifted. Israel struck Iran. Suddenly, our attention turned to questions of national security, survival, and strength.

In this episode, I share a teaching that pivots from these headlines to a deeper Torah conversation: What’s the difference between an encampment and a congregation? Between a people bound by fear and one bound by destiny? Drawing on Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik’s powerful insight and this week’s parashah, I reflect on the kind of communities we’re building—both here and in Israel—and what our sacred tradition asks of us when the world feels unstable.

This episode is about more than headlines. It’s about what it means to be a sacred people in an uncertain world.

Click Here to Download the Text Sheet With Sources

Click Here For the Video Version On YouTube