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 […]
Numbness as a Barrier — and invitation — to holiness
Kol Nidre Sermon 5778 Let’s play a game. I’m not promising you it’s going to be a very fun game. It is Yom Kippur, after all –the moment we’re implored to afflict ourselves, to make atonement for a year’s, a lifetime’s worth of regrets, those moments in our lives that pushed us to be better. […]
Teshuvah and Nostalgia: The Journey Through Time
Teshuvah and Nostalgia: The Journey Through Time Kol Nidre Sermon 5779 Here we are at Kol Nidre. Perhaps the most sacred time of the Jewish year. A time when our worldly cares are set aside; when we are supposed to be locked in to this moment; when the primary concept on our mind should be […]