Ethics – Rabbi Jon 's Website and Blog

September 16, 2026

Teshuvah, Tzedakah, and… Tefillah (Prayer)? Rosh Hashanah D’var Torah Second Day 5787/2026

I have been responsible for leading High Holy Day services start-to-finish in some way almost every year since 1988, when I was not far from here, south of Worcester in Webster, Massachusetts. So my High Holy Day career is even longer than my rabbinic career. For about the first half of that longer career, the… Continue reading

Calendar, Coronavirus, Dreams/Dreaming, Elul, Ethics, High Holidays, Holidays, Israel, Middot, Prayer, Rosh Hashanah, Spirituality, Theology, Tikkun Olam, Yamim Noraim

September 3, 2026

What I’ve Learned (So Far) About Teshuvah From “The Good Place”

This is what I said in an episode I recorded for our podcast Tov! about the TV show “The Good Place” and Jewish ideas, just before Rosh Hashanah in 2023. You can listen to this specific episode on the Tov! website here or on YouTube here. Or find Tov! on any favorite podcast app. Hey!… Continue reading

Calendar, Ethics, High Holidays, Holidays, Jewish Education, Maimonides, Middot, Rosh Hashanah, Teshuvah, Torah, Tov! Podcast, Yom Kippur, Young Jewish Adult, Youth

August 18, 2026

Being Here in the Digital Age (Rosh Hashanah 5774/2013)

This was my Dvar Torah for the first day of Rosh Hashanah in 2013. Though some of the specific examples are dated in 2026, it stands up even in the age of Instagram and AI. Over the past couple of years, I have developed a nagging but interesting physical issue. It’s a tingling sensation I… Continue reading

Calendar, Current Affairs, Ethics, Friendship, High Holidays, Holidays, Love, Middot, Rosh Hashanah, Science, Social Theory, Technology, Teens, Young Jewish Adult, Youth

July 10, 2026

Solidarity Is an Extra Oath (Mattot/Mas’ei 5781/2021)

This was my D’var Torah for July 10, 2021, Parashyiot Mattot-Mas’ei. The opening refers to the phase of the Covid-19 pandemic we were in at the time. About six weeks ago, I flew to Minnesota to see my parents. Laurie and I made calculations, which we’re pretty strict about — about sitting crunched between two… Continue reading

B’midbar, Coronavirus, Current Affairs, Ethics, Inclusion, Leadership, Mas’ei, Mattot, Middot, Numbers, Parashat Hashavua, USA, Youth

Solidarity

July 10, 2026

Preserving Our Soul in Wartime (Mattot 5774/2014)

This was my D’var Torah on Saturday morning, July 19, 2014, Parashat Mattot. I am uploading this online this 2026, as wars involving Israel, the U.S., Hamas, Hizbollah, and Iran continue in the aftermath of October 7, 2023. The specific references from 2014 are important and the message is still germane. This week is another… Continue reading

Antisemitism, B’midbar, Current Affairs, Ethics, Gaza, Israel, Jerusalem, Mattot, Middot, Numbers, Parashat Hashavua, Peace, Torah

Rav Kook

July 10, 2026

Moshe the Uncompromising? (Mattot/Mas’ei 5779/2019)

This was my D’var Torah for Parashiyot Mattot-Mas’ei on August 3, 2019. As you’ll quickly see, it’s a monologue in the voice of Moshe. Sam Waterston. In the role of New York City Assistant District Attorney Jack McCoy on Law and Order. That’s who would play me, Moshe, and that’s exactly how he would play… Continue reading

Anger, B’midbar, Ethics, Leadership, Mas’ei, Mattot, Middot, Miryam, Moshe, Negotiation, Parashat Hashavua, Patience, Peace, Torah

Aharon

April 29, 2026

Sterling Bans Silver For Life (Parashat Emor 5774)

This is the D’var Torah I gave for Parashat Emor in 2014/5774. How is this for a news headline from the week: “Silver Bans Sterling for Life.” That’s from NBA.com, the official website of professional basketball. Usually, “sterling” is the most refined kind of silver, but this week it’s been the opposite. Sterling is Donald… Continue reading

Civil Rights, Community Relations, Current Affairs, Emor, Ethics, History, Inclusion, Leadership, Parashat Hashavua, Torah, USA, Young Jewish Adult, Youth

Sports

April 17, 2026

Make Me a Kohen (Tazria-Metzora 5786)

Here is the draft of my D’var Torah for April 18, 2026, Parashiyot Tazria-Metzora. Mr. Feldman comes to see the rabbi one day, and he says: Rabbi, I’d like you to make me a kohen. The rabbi says: That’s not something I can do. You either are a kohen or you’re not a kohen. Feldman… Continue reading

Ethics, Gratitude, Lashon Hara, Metzora, Middot, Parashat Hashavua, Tazria, Torah

January 6, 2026

Brotherhood, Evolving (Parashat Shmot, MLK Weekend 5783/2023)

This is excerpted and adapted from a D’var Torah I gave in January 2023, when MLK Weekend began on Shabbat with Parashat Shmot, the opening reading in the book of Exodus. Here I’ve omitted the (long) opening, which is very similar to most of the other words I have posted about those opening chapters of… Continue reading

Civil Rights, Community Relations, Current Affairs, Equality, Ethics, Exodus, History, Inclusion, Justice, MLK Day, Moshe, Parashat Hashavua, Shmot, Tikkun Olam, Torah, Tzedek, USA, Young Jewish Adult, Youth

November 6, 2025

Before the Flood: A D’var Torah About Noach

This was my D’var Torah a couple weeks ago, about Parashat Noach and the lead-up to the Flood, on October 25, 2025. I’m late in sharing it. One way to look at the big arcs of the Torah is as a series of thought experiments. Each big story is a version of the world or… Continue reading

Current Affairs, Ethics, Midrash, Noach, Noah, Parashat Hashavua, Speech Ethics, Torah, Yonah

October 23, 2025

During the Flood, Inside the Ark — Learning From Bonhoeffer and the Freiburg School

This was my D’var Torah about Parashat Noach in 5783 (2022). This Torah reading centers on the Flood. This teaching here is about “during the Flood”, and at the end I discourage us from seeing our era as sliding toward the Flood. If we do see it that way, we still might ask the question… Continue reading

Current Affairs, Economics, Ethics, Holocaust, Hope, Inclusion, Interfaith Dialogue, Justice, Leadership, Noach, Noah, Parashat Hashavua, Tikkun Olam, Torah, Tzedek

October 17, 2025

What Vivian Paley Taught Me About Parashat Bereshit

Here is my D’var Torah for Parashat Bereshit back in 5782 (2021). ***** This is the book of the stories of humanity — on the day God created humanity, in the divine image did God create it, male and female God created them. (Genesis 5:1) “We must talk about cleanup,” I say one day at… Continue reading

Bereshit, Education, Equality, Ethics, Parashat Hashavua, Teacher-Student Relationship, Youth