Facing Life’s Big Questions this Rosh Hashanah
I’m writing to share the D’var Torah, the words of Torah, I offered this past Friday night on the eve of celebrating a young person in our community, Arielle Schwartz, becoming Bat Mitzvah. It comes on the eve of a moment in our own life cycle as a community, the eve of Rosh Hashanah, a […]
T’shuvah and the Margin for Error
I’d like to share with you the D’var Torah I shared Friday night in advance of Abigail Hamilton’s beautiful Bat Mitzvah celebration this past Shabbat: There’s a phrase that’s been floating around in the public consciousness lately that has been resonating with me on a number of levels in this season of t’shuvah, of repentance […]
Making Ourselves Known: Unburdening As A Bridge To The Divine
Yom Kippur, Society Hill Synagogue, 5784 There is one particular story from Torah that is sticking with me this Yom Kippur, and it’s a story that, while perhaps known to many, does not necessarily have an enduring role in the Jewish ritual calendar and so I want to take this opportunity to lift it up. […]
Loving Your Neighbor As Yourself: A Journey Into The Soul
Kol Nidre, Society Hill Synagogue, 5784 Rabbi Akiva has been called the greatest rabbi of them all, the most esteemed of the ancient rabbis. So when he identifies what he considers to be כְּלַל גָּדוֹל בַּתּוֹרָה, the great principle in all of Torah, you sit up and listen. The principle, the verse, he selects as […]
The Enduring Sacredness Of The Synagogue
Rosh Hashanah 5784 I have to say, I never imagined myself here. I never imagined myself as a pulpit rabbi. Many of you know that I had a brief foray as an attorney before this, and even when I got to rabbinical school, I didn’t imagine serving in a synagogue context. I imagined leaning on […]