Rabbi's Sermons

Saturday, November 13, 2021

Hizkuni, a 13th century commentator from Ashkenaz, sounds like a modern Israeli tour guide when he explains the holiness of the place where Ya’akov rests his head and dreams at the beginning of our parshah:

This is the place where Avraham offered prayers to God on his way to Ai, and Yitzhak later offered prayers on that same altar. The people Israel would fight battles...Read more...

Friday, October 22, 2021

When you or a loved one has been ill in the past, what has someone else done that has been helpful or meaningful to you?

Tomorrow morning, we will learn the Talmudic statement that hakhnasat orkhim (welcoming guests) is a greater act than welcoming the Shekhinah (the Divine Presence). Just a few sentences later, in the Talmud Bavli, Masekhet Shabbat, Rabbi Yehuda Bar Sheilah says that Rabbi Asi says...Read more...

October 15, 2021

A joke you may have heard before: 

A Jewish man was shipwrecked at sea and marooned on a desert island. When a passing boat picked him up five years later, the crew was impressed to see that he had built three buildings - one simple hut for shelter and two synagogues. 

“But why do you need two synagogues?” the captain asked.

“Well,” he replied, “There’s the one where I...Read more...

Saturday, October 2, 2021

We’ve all been there. We’ve gossiped about someone behind their back or walked past a lost dog without pausing to find the owner. When we are behind closed doors or when no one else is present, we often don’t feel the weight of our actions, or even our negligence. But intellectually, we know that that gossip is bound to make it back to its subject and to hurt them and their family. We know that a child...Read more...

September 20, 5782

At the beginning of the pandemic, we thought a lot about touch. We watched viral YouTube videos about how to best disinfect our groceries, in case they had been touched by a store employee or another customer. As places began to open up, hotels and restaurants boasted advertisements by various bleach companies. Gradually, as viral spread on surfaces was seen as less of a threat, we began to focus on interpersonal...Read more...

September 11, 2021

An English Jew, a prominent novelist and intellectual, is informed that he will be knighted. The queen’s protocol officials prepare him and other knights-to-be for the ceremony. He is informed that, when he stands before the queen, he is to recite certain Latin words just before being knighted. On the day of the ceremony, the man is very nervous and, sure enough, when he approaches the...Read more...

September 8, 2021

Lately, words have become a challenge. Halfway through expressing a thought, I change my mind, forget the point of what I was trying to say, or lose track of the appropriate word to describe my opinion or emotion. Often, I will start speaking and then realize that in this particular moment, the absence of my voice would have been much more expressive, much more powerful than its unmindful presence. As someone...Read more...

August 28, 2021

Earlier in our service this morning, we blessed God, habocher b’amo Yisrael b’ahava, the one who chooses God’s people Israel with love. In just a few minutes, we’ll bless God again, asher bachar banu mikol ha’amim v’natan lanu et Torato, the one who chose us from all of the nations and gave us God’s Torah. As we learn in Parshat Ki Tavo, if we act according to this Torah that God has given us, blessings...Read more...

August 14, 2021

Recently, I have heard variations of the following statement on social media and in passing conversation: “Hospitals should just refuse medical treatment to those who aren’t vaccinated. That’ll teach them a lesson.” It sends chills down my spine every time I hear it. Yes, the Delta variant is tragic and terrifying. Yes, it is frustrating that we have to mask up and watch our distance again, that scheduled...Read more...

September 7, 2019

Throughout the month of Elul, our current month of the Hebrew calendar, if you were to visit Jerusalem, you would quite literally wake up each morning with a multitude of shofar blasts. There is no possible way to sleep through the High Holy Days in this city, no possible way to ignore the self-reflection demanded by Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur. The screens on all of the public buses alternate between displaying the...Read more...

Yesterday morning, at Annemarie Ain’s funeral service, Rabbi Jana spoke of the stories Mrs. Ain began to tell later in life, imparting wisdom upon each individual she trusted with her words. Through her praise of Mrs. Ain, Rabbi Jana exhorted us all to tell our stories, to preserve our own legacies for generations to come. I carried Rabbi Jana’s words with me throughout the service, throughout the burial, and finally, throughout the...Read more...

Parshat D'varim - July 17, 2021

Some of us here have photographic memories; we read an article and can recall every word the following week. Some of us love doing our research; we hear about some interesting bit of Torah or science and go down a rabbit hole of books and articles. Others of us learn best through our connections with others; we ask questions, listen to stories, and gather a treasure trove of knowledge through our...Read more...

Parashat Pinhas - July 3, 2021

Judaism is expensive. A few of us here order our meat online or buy in bulk when we visit Dallas, so that we can keep kosher. The tallitot we wear in our services do not come for free, and the Jewish summer camps that many of us once attended, or at least, sent kids to, certainly did not come for free either. In just a couple of months, we will purchase lulav sets for Sukkot, and I know quite a few...Read more...

Parashat Sh'lah - June 5, 2021

When I was a younger pianist, I tried to avoid playing anything by J.S. Bach at all costs. Bach’s music requires precision and clarity; it is very obvious when a musician makes a mistake while playing Bach. I always preferred Romantic pieces, with their giant, crunchy chords, tones that purposefully blur together, and sheer emotional weight that can distract from a missed note. As I became a...Read more...

Parashat Nasso - May 22, 2021

We are by no means an ascetic tradition. We embrace the material, with stacked bookshelves and multi-colored kippot. We revel in spiritual joy, with lavish meals, catchy tunes, and endless holidays and lifecycle events to encourage families to celebrate together.

Our reading today will end with a blessing we recite at the end of each prayer service.

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