Avodah: Service
Kol Nidre Sermon 5781 Tonight for my sermon I want to talk about a makhloket, so first I have to define what that term means. A makhloket is that component of a dialogue where a disagreement is discovered. It’s not necessarily acrimonious but it’s a place where two sides fundamentally disagree. And in some ways […]
Lifting the Sparks
Rosh Hashanah Sermon 5781 For my first of three sermons this year, I figured I’d get right to it. The state of the world today. Humanity’s role in a broken cosmos. We’ve got about 10 minutes. Let’s figure this out. In all seriousness, what role does Judaism and religion play if not as something of […]
To Return Or Not To Return
As we do each week, we reflect back on our communal Torah discussion from this past Shabbat (held each week Saturday mornings at 10 am at this link). This past Shabbat we studied a passage from our weekly parshah (Torah portion) called Shoftim, meaning “Judges,” in which Moses, in preparation for the Israelites’ arrival into the Promised Land, lays […]
See The Choices Before You
This past Shabbat, we studied Parashat Re’eh, the Torah portion known as Re’eh, which means literally, “See!” Moses is speaking to the Israelites on the precipice of the Promised Land, and he presents them with one of the most stark choices in all of biblical tradition: “See, this day I set before you blessing and curse: blessing, if […]
When Tradition Says To Give Thanks (Hint: Always)
As we do each (or, most) weeks, we reflect back on what we learned in our Torah discussion this past week, reflecting on how this Etz Chayiim, Tree of Life, as the Torah is sometimes called, extends into our generation, offering us learning, helping us to reveal the holiness with which all life is infused. This past week, we continued […]