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Your Moment of Chen (Yom Kippur 5787)
My sermon on Erev Yom Kippur 5787 In our Jewish tradition, we like to end our prayers with words of peace. We have a number of prayers for peace scattered throughout our liturgy. Particularly I’m thinking right now of the Amidah, the standing silent prayer we just did, which gives us the opportunity each time…
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The Audacity of Cope (Erev Rosh Hashanah 5787)
I don’t know what the over/under is on my sermon topic tonight but I’m going to guess that a number of you here tonight believe it is going to be the “Seven Things I Learned On My Sabbatical.” Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you, but you would be wrong. But not completely wrong. Because it…
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We Put Our Hope In You, Our God…And It Is Up To Us.
A prayer for peace and healing, after the Aleynu:עַל כֵּןנְקַוֶּה לְּךָה’ אֱלהֵינוּ לִרְאות מְהֵרָהAl Ken Nekaveh Lecha Adonai EloheynuLirot MeheyraAnd soWe put our hope in You,Our God,That soon we will witness:That all are safe and seenand all are fed and free,That all have what they need,and all can be at peace.That neither bomb nor bulletnor…
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What Animal Sacrifice Teaches Us About Economic Equity
We might not expect to find a statement of economic equity tucked into the description of animal sacrifices in the book of Leviticus, but that is exactly what we find in this week’s Torah portion. Having completing the book of Exodus last week with a description of the Tabernacle, the portable sanctuary that will serve…
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We Are Angry
I’m not deeply into the superhero genre, but I saw many of the Marvel movies with my sons and there has always been one scene about the Hulk that always stood out to me and I think about often. The lore of the Hulk is that a scientist named Bruce Banner was experimenting with “gamma…
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A Jewish Prayer for the Day of Remembrance
Today is the anniversary of Executive Order 9066, signed on this day in 1942 by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, establishing the Japanese internment during WWII. I am still incredulous that I did not learn this history growing up back east. As Jews, this shameful part of American history should be resonant, both because of the fear…
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“Fiddler on the Roof” and the Conditionality of Jewish Acceptance
I watch “Fiddler on the Roof” at least once a year, usually on Christmas Day when my congregation partners with our local independent cinema to show the 1971 classic. The film, an adaptation of the Broadway musical which is an adaptation of short stories of Sholom Aleichem, tells the story of Tevye, a dairyman in…
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Thou Shalt Not Lie. Except…
When we come to this week’s Torah portion, I always think about the scene from The Godfather, Part II when Michael Corleone tells his button man Al Neri that he doesn’t want anything to happen to Fredo, his brother who betrayed him, while their mother is alive. Once she dies, however, the story takes a different turn.…
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The Power of Not Accepting One’s Situation
Dear friends: I appreciate all those who follow me here and read my writings. I have recently started a Substack, and have been posting there as well. I am considering moving all of my posting to that platform, so I invite you to subscribe to my blog over there https://rabbi360.substack.com/ Thanks! The story of Joseph…
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