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 for the Jewish community, for Israel, and for the world. Never in modern history has a sitting president, eligible for another term of office, decided not to run for re-election […]

Navigating the Eternal and Temporal in Jewish Practice

First I want to share a word about how I approach Divrei Torah — this practice of writing reflections based on Jewish text, tradition, and history — differently during the week than for Shabbat. On Shabbat, the emphasis is more on the Eternal: what are the ways that the Divine, as manifest in our sacred […]

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 is not a strategy” (juxtaposing it to the notion that “neither is despair”). It is true that hope is not a strategy: if you want to achieve something, you don’t […]

Independence and Responsibility: A 4th of July Message from Rabbi Kamesar

Independence and Responsibility: A 4th of July Message from Rabbi Kamesar I write this on the cusp of the 4th of July, the date commemorating the establishment of the United States of America through the ratification by the Continental Congress of the Declaration of Independence, a mere three blocks from Society Hill Synagogue.  It is […]

Rabbi’s Remarks from our Congregation Annual Meeting

Dear Friends, What follows are the remarks I delivered at this year’s Congregational Annual Meeting, reflecting back on an incredible year of contributions from, and on behalf of, Jewish community in general, and this community in particular. Thank you. What a year it has been. I began my time as Rabbi of Society Hill Synagogue […]