Rabbi Kamesar's Divrei Torah on Israel
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A Time for Wailing, A Time for Dancing
These verses from Ecclesiastes come to me in this moment that feels like both “a time for wailing and a time for dancing.”
A time for dancing because, after 15 months of war, hostages will be reunited with their families, rockets — at least between Israel and Hamas — will stop firing, families will return to their hometowns. Peace, albeit limited, tentative, and fragile, will reign.
Israel and Community, and the California Fires
I’d like to share a reflection flowing out of a monthly course I’m teaching here at Society Hill Synagogue on Zionism: Understanding The Yearnings For
The Jewish Story: Resounding Through the Shofar
Rosh Hashanah 5785 This year has changed my relationship to what it means to be Jewish. Every year, during the High Holidays, I give a
Bearing Witness to Heartbreak — Reflections on the War’s Toll
This has been a brutal week for the Jewish people. Six hostages, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Ori Danino, Almog Sarusi, and Alexander Lobanov,
Chosenness, Conflict, and a Path Forward
This past Shabbat we began the final book of the Torah, Sefer Devarim, the Book of Deuteronomy. The word “Deuteronomy” comes from a Greek translation of
Journeys of the Past and Present — Insights from Parashat Masei
This past Shabbat we studied Parashat Masei, which means something like “travels” or “stages”. It is the last portion in the Sefer Bamidbar, the Book
Jewish Wisdom on Character and Leadership Amid Political Change
Yet again, I write in response to unfolding developments in one of the most eventful months in electoral politics in modern American history, with reverberations
The Power of Hope: A Cornerstone of the Jewish Experience
There’s one part of my previously emailed d’var torah that I kind of want to take back. In it, I shared the truism that “hope
Balancing Compassion and Critique: A Yom Kippur Perspective on Israel
Dear Friends, I’m sometimes reminded of the adage about Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, that it has the capacity to afflict the comfortable and
The Jewish Story
Dear Friends, I wanted to share just briefly a bit about the mentality I’m holding each week when I write about Israel, Gaza, and the
Identity, Israel, and Shared Humanity
Dear Friends, Each week I reflect, professionally, on a couple of fronts: for Friday nights, I try to write in a spirit that reflects the
Pesah, Protest, and Poetry
We just got finished celebrating beautiful, if painful, Passover Seders in our homes and in community.
I wanted to begin by sharing the words with which I opened our Seder here at Society Hill Synagogue, with over 150 people across the generations crammed warmly in our social hall:
Finding God in Alienation
Dear Friends, About a month after October 7, my wife Caroline, stretching to find something with which to introduce the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — and, more
Gut-Wrenching Reporting
Dear Friends, It is heartbreaking to continue to reflect on the war flowing out of the October 7 massacre. I wrestle with whether ongoing commentary
The Return of Hostages: Where Do We Go From Here?
Dear Friends, This has been both an inspiring and continuously heartbreaking week; the latter word—heartbreaking—I’ve been using so often lately as to put it in
Reflections on the Israel March in DC
Dear Friends, I joined over 290,000 people at the National Mall in Washington DC on Tuesday for the March for Israel, March to Free Hostages,
Questions — and an attempt at answers — on the ongoing war
Each week I wrestle anew with the events unfolding in Israel, Gaza, and around the globe, thinking about them in different ways. This week, is
Ongoing Struggling With Israel, Gaza, And Antisemitism
Each week, I struggle with the events in Israel, Gaza, and around the globe. And when I say struggle, I really mean it: Struggle with
Unfolding Responses to War
I said above that I had some additional thoughts to share on the war, evolving as they may be as events unfold. I am largely
The Power of Gathering
Dear Friends, It goes without saying how heavy a toll this month has taken: on our souls, our spirits, our psyches—to say nothing of the
Ongoing Response to War in Israel and Gaza
Dear Friends, What a horrendous week and a half it has been in Israel, Gaza, and around the world. We mourn deeply the loss of
Response To Tragedy In Israel on October 7
SINGULAR MOMENT IN ISRAEL As we now know, what took place this past Shabbat and Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah holiday in Israel was not the standard
How Exile Shows Up In Our Lives
Starting Wednesday night and continuing through Thursday, we honor Tishah B’Av, the ninth day of the Jewish month of Av, the date which commemorates numerous tragedies over
The Special Time of Jewish Weddings, Tragedy in Philly, and Turmoil in Israel
Dear Friends, I just got back from a brief vacation in Portland, Oregon where Caroline and I attended my sister’s wedding, which I was honored
Yom Hazikaron | Israel at 75 | Yom Hashoah
Yom Hazikaron – Memorial Day This evening, Yom Hazikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day, (whose full official name is Yom Hazikaron Lehalelei Ma’arkhot Yisrael Ul’nifge’ei Pe’ulot Haeivah/Memorial
A Dayenu Moment in Tennessee, Violence in Israel
Dear Friends, I write this week in part to speak up about what I see as a dayeinu moment in Tennessee. Dayenu is of course the song we sing
Israel’s Democracy on Pause: A Victory for Popular Protest and Judicial Balance
Dear Friends, What a week it’s been in Israel. We are in the midst of marking the 75th anniversary of the creation of the State
Shabbat Zachor, the Shabbat of Remembrance: Reflections on a Challenging New Year in Israel
This Shabbat is a special Shabbat known as Shabbat Zachor, the Shabbat of memory. Now, that can encompass many features of Jewish, and human, existence, but Shabbat
The Juxtaposition of Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha’atzmaut
Today marks Yom Ha’atzmaut, Independence Day in Israel, coming on the heels of Yom Hazikaron, shorthand for Yom HaZikaron LeHalalei Ma’arakhot Yisrael ul’Nifge’ei Pe’ulot HaEivah, Memorial Day for
Note About Israel and Sunday’s Town Hall
What a tragic and disconcerting week it’s been in Israel, a place so deeply held in so many of our hearts. Not only are bombs and