Rabbi Mark is entering his 50th year in the active rabbinate. He was born in New York City and grew up attending religious schools and Orthodox synagogues on the Lower East Side. He graduated from Yeshiva University with degrees in English Language and Literature and in Bible and Jewish Education, and later continued graduate studies in English while combining teaching with his rabbinical work.
Rabbi Mark met his wife, Anbeth, while they were both working at a Reform temple in Brooklyn. They have served congregations in New Jersey, North Carolina, and New Hampshire, and came to Temple Sholom in Florida in 2009. They have two grown children.
Achray Mote-Kedoshim Mini-Drash 2026
The Golden Rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
There was a beautiful valley nestled between mighty mountains. A sparkling river flowed
through the valley, full of fish of many sizes and kinds. A few times in the year, heavy rains fell
and the river waters would rise, until it overflowed its banks and flooded the land. This was not
bad in the end, because after the waters retreated, the flood-plain was more fertile than before,
and fruit trees grew on the banks.
From time to time, however, the river would swell so high that fish and other river creatures
would come up onto the dry land. It happened that, one day, the rains fell and the waters rose.
Just below the river surface swam a large fish with golden scales. A young, naive monkey in a
tree nearby, who had lived his entire life in the trees and never seen a fish before thought that he
could do this strange creature a good turn. He reached into the water and caught the fish, placing
it carefully on a tree branch.
“What are you doing, Monkey?” asked the fish, gasping, “If you don’t put me back into the
water, I will surely die!”
“I don’t live in the water; how can you?” replied the monkey, and left the fish on the branch.
Shortly thereafter, it gasped and died.
Moral: It is not enough to “do unto others”—we must make an effort to learn what is good and
healthy for our fellow beings, and not just project our own feelings onto them.
Shabbat, April 25, 2026—8 Iyar 5786, Day 23 of the Omer
Torah Portion Acharay Mote-Kedoshim
| Aliyah | Page | Chapter | Verse |
|---|---|---|---|
| KOHEN | 497 | 19 | 1-3 |
| LEVI | 498 | 19 | 4-6 |
| SHELISHI | 499 | 19 | 7-9 |
| REVII | 499 | 19 | 10-12 |
| CHAMISHI | 500 | 19 | 13-15 |
| SHISHI | 501 | 19 | 16-18 |
| SHEVII | 502 | 19 | 19-21 |
| MAFTIR | 508 | 20 | 25-27 |
Haftorah—P. 509, Amos 9:7-15