December Yahrzeits Announced during services on: December 2 02 (19 Kislev) Donald Sloan for his grandfather, Jacob Salomon 03 (20 Kislev) Barbara Lewin for her mother, Ruth Kaufman Blick 04 (21 Kislev) Norman Winkelman for his father-in-law, Sam Samuels 05 (22 Kislev) Sara Yakira for her grandfather, Jack Heckelman 06 (23 Kislev) Nathalie Rudy for Continue Reading »
Over Rosh Hashanah, I tried to make the case that the core message of the high holidays is that we must learn to accept and internalize that our lives are temporary. Whereas life might be viewed as a gift, a true gift comes with no strings attached. I believe our tradition understands it more as Continue Reading »
Letting Go of the “I” Yesterday, I tried to show how a theme of being judged and a Judeo- stoic tradition of accepting the reality of death combined to create a New Year holiday more about prayers of “who shall live and who shall die” than about drinking parties and countdowns until midnight. Some modern Continue Reading »
THERE’S A JUDEO-STOIC TRADITION & RH-YK IS ITS HOLIDAY Every year I try to find some current big picture issue that I think could be relevant to most of the congregation and frame my HH sermons around seeing that issue through a jewish lens. To the best of my knowledge, that’s what most rabbis do. Continue Reading »
Is RH-YK Important Because We’re All Here or We’re All Here Because It’s Important? Before services: Please take the opportunity to light candles for Shabbat and Rosh Hashanah on the tables by the sanctuary doors. Cards with the blessings are posted. Let’s enable ourselves to pray in enjoyment of the holiday lights. Those who’ve been Continue Reading »
It’s mind boggling, really, that popular opinion has it that religion and politics can be kept separate. Religion is astonishingly potent. Amazingly, a devout Mother Teresa spends her life wrapping bandages on lepers in the slums of Calcutta. Tragically, religious ardor inspires suicide bombers. Humans are capable of taking the lives of others and of Continue Reading »