Sermons Category
Open the Door to Justice
Posted on September 30, 2017 Leave a Comment
A creaky door. EEEEEEE! Once there was an elderly man who spent his whole life carrying an oil can. Whenever he heard a door creak, it would aggravate him. So, he would take out his oil can, and pour oil on the hinges of the door, so that it would open and shut without a […]
Open the Door: Doors on Our Jewish Identity
Posted on September 27, 2017 Leave a Comment
Is it a professional hazard, or personal interest, or a bit of both? I am not sure. However, I watch a lot of Jewish YouTube videos. People send them to me in emails and messages, they are found in the scrolling on my Facebook page, and sometimes I seek them out for a program, […]
Open the Door: Doors into Loving the Land of Israel
Posted on September 27, 2017 2 Comments
When you visit Jerusalem, the white limestone buildings of old and new, rise out of the hills of the Judean desert. Buildings that are rooted in centuries of history. That have weathered wind and storm. Buildings that glisten with golden hue in the hot desert sun. Buildings which create a uniform vista of cohesion, that […]
Ki Tetzei – We Go Forth
Posted on September 1, 2017 Leave a Comment
There were rules to how things operated at Disney.[i] Walt Disney had an Advisory Board. The early days of the studio were difficult, but Disney refused to give up on his creative visions. You can imagine, that there were those on his advisory board that agreed and disagree with him. There was a cultural and […]
So You Pray for Refuah/Healing?
Posted on July 21, 2017 Leave a Comment
The lecturer and author, Dan Millman, reflected on an experience that taught him courage. Liza was suffering from a rare and serious disease. Her only chance to recover was a blood transfusion from her five-year-old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies to combat the illness. The doctor explained […]
Crowns and a Small Aleph
Posted on March 31, 2017 Leave a Comment
It is not just the stories and laws and words of the Torah that have meaning. We are taught that each-and-every letter, each crown or tagin on the letter, of the Torah is significant. “Rabbi Yehuda, quoting Rav, said: `When Moses ascended to receive the Torah he found God sitting and tying crowns to the […]
Installation Sermon: Har Sinai Congregation
Posted on December 16, 2016 Leave a Comment
Our Shabbat bridges a borderline between Torah tales. Morning will speak the story of Jacob. Last week, Jacob sights angels ascending and descending a ladder at a place he names Beth-El. This week, at the transit-point of Jabbok, he struggles with a “being”, and transitions in name from Jacob, “the heel” – to Israel, “one […]
Truth
Posted on November 11, 2016 Leave a Comment
Our Cantor just sang the beautiful words of Psalm 34 with a melody I had not heard since my teenage years. Mi Ha’ish… Whoever of you who loves life and desires to see many good days/ Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies/ Turn from evil and do good, seek peace […]
Ha’azinu – Rock and Roll to Peace
Posted on October 14, 2016 Leave a Comment
In an interpretation of our tradition it is said that on Har Sinai, Moses received all of Torah. Torah past and Torah future. He wrote down Bereshit the first Torah portion, and he wrote down V’Zot HaBracha, the last Torah portion. I imagine that when Moses chanted the words of Ha’azinu, the beautiful biblical […]
The Meanings of Elul
Posted on September 23, 2016 Leave a Comment
Elul. Aleph. Lamed. Vav. Lamed. Elul. This month is our soul time. This is the time that the hard work begins. A time of self-examination and accounting in preparation for the High Holy Days – Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Selichot prayers, prayers for forgiveness are traditionally recited daily, in the hope that our […]
