Abraham Failed the Test (Rosh Hashanah Morning 2018)
Our tradition teaches that the Akeidah highlights the pinnacle of Jewish faith. God commands Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, and the Torah tells us…
Indictiveness, Thou-Ness, and Matters of Substance (Rosh Hashanah Evening 2018)
Buenas noches y feliz ano nuevo. Good evening and Happy New Year! This summer, I started to learn Spanish. I’m using a free app, Duolingo….
Safe Spaces, Holy Spaces (Yom Kippur 2017)
Three months ago, 1500 people marched in Chicago. The march was a women’s gay rights march. As it gathered support, it seemed to be a…
You Want it Darker (Kol Nidrei 2017)
If you are the dealer, I’m out of the game If you are the healer, it means I’m broken and lame And thine is the…
Let Truth Spring Forth from the Earth (and From Us) (Rosh Hashanah Morning 2017)
When God was about to create human beings, a midrash shows that God formed an ad-hoc creation committee meeting. God invited the ministering angels to…
Look at Your Steps & Then, Look Up! (Rosh Hashanah Evening 2017)
Where have you been? What have you done? These are essential questions on our High Holidays. The prayers we recite tonight and tomorrow will help…
Yom Kippur Morning 5777: 1…2…3…Smile!
My father loves photography. He would lug out his 35 millimeter camera and insist on taking pictures of my mom and me on vacations, hikes, even sometimes just going out to lunch. Now that he has a DSLR, it’s even worse; Emily and I joke that we have to build dad’s camera time into our activities due to the number of times he asks us to stop in front of this or that tree, bridge, flower, sunset … you get the idea.
Yom Kippur Evening 5777: Now is the Time …
A young boy ran away from home, and was quite far away. In fact, it would take a journey of 100 days to return. He friends beseeched him, Return to your home! He said, I cannot, for I do not have the strength. Upon hearing this, his father then sent a message, Come back as far as you can according to your strength, and I will go the rest of the way to meet you.
Rosh Hashanah Morning 5777: Make Good Art
In 2012, Neil Gaiman gave the commencement address at the University of the Arts. Gaimon is a prolific author of fantasy books, including the well-known and critically acclaimed, *Coraline,* which was made into a stop-motion animation film in 2009.
I’m guessing that Gaiman did not have Rosh Hashanah and Judaism in mind when he delivered his speech in Philadelphia. His words, however, could not be a more perfect introduction to the beginning of our New Year:
Life is sometimes hard. Things go wrong, in life and in love and in business and in friendship and in health and in all the other ways that life can go wrong. And when things get tough, this is what you should do:
Make good art.
Rosh Hashanah Evening 5777: Tevye’s Other Hand
A new Rabbi comes to the synagogue and leads Shabbat services for the first time. Everything is going well. But just before the Sh’ma, half of the congregation stands up while the other half remains seated.
During the Oneg following the service, the rabbi asks some congregants about this interesting happenstance. The congregation is split. Each half argues vehemently – some for standing – and some for sitting.