Hope

November 10, 2023

Seven Years Old, Twenty Years Old, One Hundred Years Old

This is the D’var Torah I plan to give tomorrow for Parashat Chayei Sarah 5784, November 11, 2023. One of the weekly Divrei Torah that are always worth a look comes from Rabbi Josh Feigelson, leader of the Institute for Jewish Spirituality. This week Josh started by talking about the idea of the “multiverse”, which… Continue reading

Chayei Sarah, Current Affairs, Gaza, Hope, Israel, Middot, Parashat Hashavua, Torah
October 27, 2023

You Are Not Alone, You Are a Blessing

This is the D'var Torah I plan to give tomorrow in services, October 28, 2023 for Parashat Lech L'cha, the opening of the saga of Sarah and Avraham, three weeks after the Hamas attacks of October 7 and as the war continues in Gaza. Who said the Torah had to be divided into 54 roughly… Continue reading

Abuse, Antisemitism, Community Relations, Current Affairs, Gaza, Hope, Israel, Jerusalem, Lech L’cha, Parashat Hashavua, Torah, Young Jewish Adult
October 13, 2023

Two Kinds of Darkness, Two Kinds of Light, Two Kinds of Torah

This is (I think) the D'var Torah I have for services this Shabbat tomorrow. The Torah reading begins with the very beginning of the Torah. It's one week since the Hamas atrocities began. Thank you to Rabbi Rebecca Rosenthal and Rabbi Aryeh Klapper for helping me unlock this, though if anything is off it's on… Continue reading

Antisemitism, Bereshit, Calendar, Current Affairs, Eight, Gaza, High Holidays, History, Holidays, Hope, Israel, Midrash, Noach, Parashat Hashavua, Patience, Prayer, Simchat Torah, Terrorism, Tikkun Olam, Torah, Yamim Noraim
September 20, 2023

My Rosh Hashanah Sermons (5784/2023)

Read or watch/listen: Click to read the text of the sermons: Day 1 — Glimmers Day 2 — Through Regret Or watch or listen on YouTube: Continue reading

Calendar, Ethics, Foregiveness, High Holidays, Holidays, Hope, Joy, Middot, Peace, Prayer, Ritual, Rosh Hashanah, Spirituality, Tikkun Olam, Torah, Tzedakah, Tzedek, Yamim Noraim, Young Jewish Adult, Youth
December 22, 2022

This Chanukkah — Many Ideas

I am still trying to keep on top of my many channels, between this blog and the Tov! podcast and Temple Beth Abraham's site and blog, not to mention social media. (Not complaining!) I haven't put a link here yet to the many thematic Chanukkah-related writings I've got, some of them reposts from prior years and… Continue reading

Antisemitism, Calendar, Chanuka, Chanukkah, Freedom, History, Holidays, Hope, Inclusion, Interfaith Dialogue, Jerusalem, Joy, Justice, Peace, Ritual, Spirituality, Study, Tikkun Olam, Torah, USA, Young Jewish Adult, Youth
December 5, 2022

Hope, Chanukkah, and the Dreidel

This is one version of a D'var Torah I have given in a few variations at different times, around Chanukkah and even once on Rosh Hashanah! I have only a couple of Chanukkah sermons, and in fact you may have heard me give a version of this in years past and even on a Rosh… Continue reading

Calendar, Chanuka, Chanukkah, Current Affairs, History, Holidays, Hope, Joy, Patience, Prayer, Shabbat, Synagogue, Temple Beth Abraham, Tikkun Olam
October 1, 2022

My Rosh Hashanah Sermons From Last Week

Here are my sermons from Rosh Hashanah 5783: First day:Help Me Talk About What I've Been Through and Who I Am Second day:Right-ology: How to Be Right Better in the New Year Wishing everyone a Shana Tova Umetukah, a good and sweet new year! Continue reading

Calendar, Coronavirus, Current Affairs, Election, Elul, Ethics, Gratitude, Hakarat Hatov, High Holidays, Holidays, Hope, Middot, Midrash, Prayer, Rosh Hashanah, Soul, Speech Ethics, Spirituality, Synagogue, Talmud, Teacher-Student Relationship, Television, Teshuvah, Theology, Torah, Tov! Podcast, USA, Yamim Noraim
September 8, 2022

Best of My Past High Holy Day Sermons

These are to me the best of my Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur sermons from years past. I'm collecting them here because you find them useful to read and think about in Elul. They aren't in chronological or any particular order. Hope In An Uncertain World (5777/2016)What the Chanukkah dreidel can teach us about four… Continue reading

Calendar, Coronavirus, Current Affairs, Election, Ethics, Gratitude, Hakarat Hatov, High Holidays, Hope, Justice, Leadership, Middot, Patience, Ritual, Rosh Hashanah, Shabbat, Teshuvah, Tikkun Olam, Torah, Tzedek, USA, Yamim Noraim, Yom Kippur, Youth
September 7, 2022

Getting From Here to High Holy Days, Starting With a Party!

This is based on what I said on Shabbat morning, August 27, 2022 at the start of the month of Elul. It was the day of a Bar Mitzvah and an aufruf (blessing to a couple about to get married)! Usually I think of Elul as a time of introspection before we get together in… Continue reading

Calendar, Elul, Ethics, Gratitude, Hakarat Hatov, High Holidays, Holidays, Hope, Joy, Prayer, Ritual, Rosh Hashanah, Shabbat, Simcha, Soul, Spirituality, Study, Synagogue, Yamim Noraim, Yom Kippur
May 19, 2022

Tov! Chapters 21 and 22 Are Out

Chapter 21 — Soulmates Reconsidered On “The Good Place”, Janet makes and reabsorbs Derek, her rebound guy; Tahani and Jason almost get married; and Eleanor reveals to Chidi their love from a previous reboot. On the podcast, David Shyovitz and I roam through Talmudic and medieval Jewish texts about soulmates – whether they are earthly… Continue reading

Ethics, History, Hope, Spirituality, Torah, Tov! Podcast
February 24, 2022

My Testimony on “Divisive Concepts”

I testified at two committees of the New Hampshire legislature on bills to change or repeal our new "divisive concepts" law — Senate Judiciary and House Education. I said essentially the same things at both hearings. Here it is, video and my written statement (they are the same). Mr. Chairman and Honored Representatives: Thank… Continue reading

#integratingamerica, 9/11, Antisemitism, Books, Community Relations, Current Affairs, Education, Equality, Ethics, Freedom, History, Holocaust, Hope, Immigration, Inclusion, Interfaith Dialogue, Jewish Education, Justice, Leadership, Study, Taking Sides, Teacher-Student Relationship, Tikkun Olam, Tzedek, USA, Youth
January 11, 2022

Rechavia, Sabba Moshe, and the Night Before Leaving Egypt: A Midrash

I wrote this midrash on the 5th of Sheva 5782 (January 8, 2022) as my Dvar Torah for Parashat Bo, and in particular chapters 11-12 of Exodus, which introduce and lead into and through the last of the ten plagues in Egypt. I was thinking about issues of collective accountability and responsibility, which are the ethical… Continue reading

Antisemitism, Bo, Books, Calendar, Coronavirus, Current Affairs, History, Holidays, Hope, Justice, Leadership, Midrash, Parashat Hashavua, Pesach, Shabbat Hachodesh, Tikkun Olam, Torah, Tzedek, USA