Conservative Judaism

April 29, 2026

How Jewish Law Is Made (Parashat Emor 5782)

This was my D’var Torah on Parashat Emor in 2022/5782. Our parasha describes the case of a fight between two men, and for some reason it’s worth mentioning that one of them had an Egyptian father and an Israelite mother, and the other had two Israelite parents, and in the middle of the fight the… Continue reading

Conservative Judaism, Current Affairs, Emor, Equality, Halacha, Justice, Parashat Hashavua, Torah, USA
June 27, 2024

The Grape Cluster and the Two Who Carry It: A D’var Torah for Pride

This is the D'var Torah I gave for Pride Shabbat 5781/2021, for Parashat Sh'lach L'cha (Numbers 13:1-15:41). I love this parasha about the scouts, the m’raglim, and the fact that the Torah is so brutally honest about how hard it is to go forward even to a land of milk and honey, even when the… Continue reading

Calendar, Conservative Judaism, Current Affairs, Education, Equality, Friendship, GLBT, Gratitude, Hakarat Hatov, Inclusion, Jewish Education, Justice, LGBTQ+, Parashat Hashavua, Sh’lach L’cha, Teens, Teshuvah, Tikkun Olam, Torah, Tzedek, Young Jewish Adult, Youth
May 23, 2023

The Torah Is Not a TED Talk

This is a D'var Torah I shared February 11, 2023 for Parashat Yitro, but I'm publishing it now right before Shavuot, when we read the same section of the Torah, Exodus 19-20. This book — the Torah — has been read and encountered by millions of people through so many generations, and changed their lives… Continue reading

Books, Calendar, Conservative Judaism, Ethics, Heschel, Holidays, Maimonides, Parashat Hashavua, Prophets, Revelation, Shavuot, Study, Torah, Yitro
July 4, 2022

Inheriting America, Choosing America

This is another take on something I've written and spoken about before, how and why I chose to stay in America because of my engagement with quintessential American themes of freedom and individuality. I spoke about this last Shabbat, in anticipation of Independence Day 2022. It's published here at the Times of Israel. Continue reading

#integratingamerica, Calendar, Community Relations, Conservative Judaism, Current Affairs, Election, Ethics, Exodus, Freedom, History, Holidays, Inclusion, Jewish Education, Justice, Study, Synagogue, Talmud, Tikkun Olam, Tov! Podcast, Tzedakah, Tzedek, USA, Young Jewish Adult, Youth
June 23, 2022

The Supreme Court This Term, Religion and Abortion

This isn’t the absolute center of the issue around abortion and the Supreme Court. But the issues in this article in Slate are important, particularly as the Court has ruled also this week in the Maine school case and potentially will soon rule in the high school coach prayer case. The headline is both spot… Continue reading

Bioethics, Community Relations, Conservative Judaism, Current Affairs, End of Life, Equality, Ethics, Feminism, Freedom, History, Inclusion, Interfaith Dialogue, Justice, LGBTQ+, Theology, Tikkun Olam, Torah, Tzedek, USA
June 20, 2022

In the Midst, All at Once: A Torah for Pride 5782

This was the D'var Torah I gave for Parashat B’haalotcha on June 18, 2022. When the same passage of Torah comes at you from four different sources the same week, you have to pay attention. I always look forward to Parashat B’haalotcha because it’s the start of the frisky Torah, the Torah of complaining. It’s… Continue reading

B’haalotcha, Conservative Judaism, Current Affairs, Education, Equality, Ethics, GLBT, Inclusion, Jewish Education, Justice, LGBTQ+, Parashat Hashavua, Synagogue, Temple Beth Abraham, Teshuvah, Tikkun Olam, Torah, Tzedek, USA, Young Jewish Adult, Youth
January 13, 2021

Rolling Waters, Mighty Stream — Exploring MLK’s Metaphor

This was my opening invocation for the annual Southern NH Outreach for Black Unity Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. breakfast on January 21, 2019. I am so honored to be invited to join you for some opening words today. My name is Jon Spira-Savett, and I serve as rabbi for the Jewish community in… Continue reading

Calendar, Community Relations, Conservative Judaism, Current Affairs, History, Holidays, Inclusion, Interfaith Dialogue, Justice, Leadership, MLK Day, Prophets, Shoftim, Theology, Tikkun Olam, Torah, Tzedek, USA
May 18, 2020

Celebrating 25 Years Since Ordination

25 years ago today we received our degrees from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and became rabbis and cantors for the Jewish people. Some reminiscences and reflections, I am sure I will have more, maybe a sermon this Saturday… The best part of the week was that Laurie also got her MBA from Columbia.… Continue reading

Conservative Judaism, Jewish Education, Leadership, Rabbi, Study, Teacher-Student Relationship, Torah
May 31, 2018

Bring Philip Roth to Shul Day

This was my Dvar Torah on May 26, for Parashat Naso. I know one person, and maybe only one, who would have loved the beginning of this Torah reading – Philip Roth, the great American Jewish author who died this week at the age of 85. He was not really a Torah person, but the… Continue reading

Books, Conservative Judaism, Current Affairs, Heschel, Jewish Education, Naso, Parashat Hashavua, Teacher-Student Relationship, USA
April 12, 2018

Reverend King and the Rabbis — Fifty Years Later

My D'var Torah of April 7, 2018: Fifty years ago last month, ten days before he was assassinated, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., appeared before the national convention of the Rabbinical Assembly, the annual gathering of Conservative rabbis. It turned out to be Rev. King’s last interview. He was greeted, for the first time… Continue reading

Community Relations, Conservative Judaism, Current Affairs, Freedom, Holidays, Inclusion, Interfaith Dialogue, Justice, Leadership, MLK Day, Shabbat, Tikkun Olam, Tzedek, USA
January 24, 2011

Women in the Rabbinate — A Few Small Details

Last Shabbat we had an excellent talk at Beth Abraham about the role of women in the rabbinate, from Rabbi Margaret Frisch Klein. The occasion was Sisterhood Shabbat. Margaret mentioned the program she attended in December with the four women who were the first female ordainees in the Reform, Reconstructionist, Conservative and Orthodox movements. The… Continue reading

Conservative Judaism, Feminism
July 15, 2010

Shabbat Chazon: We Need Unity, Take Action Now

This Shabbat we open Sefer Dvarim, the book of Deuteronomy. This Shabbat is also known as Shabbat Chazon, the Shabbat of "The Vision", which refers to the Haftarah taken from the opening of the book of the prophet Yeshayahu. It is always read on the Shabbat that precedes Tisha B'Av, (the ninth day of the… Continue reading

Conservative Judaism, Current Affairs, Devarim, Israel, Parashat Hashavua