Ritual

May 3, 2024

Tentative Torah For the Week’s Parasha and Week of Protests

Some meandering and very rough notes about the opening of this week’s Torah reading, Leviticus 16, somehow sort of in light of week’s events at Columbia University and other places. The chapter appears to be just the description by the Divine to Moshe and Aharon (Moses and Aaron) of an elaborate ritual for Yom… Continue reading

Acharei Mot, Antisemitism, Calendar, Current Affairs, Foregiveness, Friendship, Gaza, Holidays, Interfaith Dialogue, Israel, Justice, Leadership, Middot, Midrash, Moshe, Parashat Hashavua, Patience, Ritual, Tzedek, USA, Yom Kippur, Young Jewish Adult
October 4, 2023

Sukkot, Science and Religion

My extended D'var Torah on this topic at Sinai and Synapses! Continue reading

Calendar, Environment, High Holidays, History, Holidays, Prayer, Ritual, Science, Spirituality, Sukkot, Yamim Noraim
September 26, 2023

Sukkot, Water, and Oneness

From Yom Kippur, when we put aside our material existence by fasting and spending so many hours in prayer, we move within days to Sukkot. Sukkot is by contrast a very earthy, material holiday. There is the Sukkah booth itself and the plant material that makes up its roof. There are the Arba'ah Minim, the Four… Continue reading

Calendar, Environment, High Holidays, Holidays, Ritual, Sukkot, 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 25, 2022

Being One, Being Two, Being Seven, Being Eight

My D'var Torah for Shabbat Chanukkah 5783 (December 24, 2022). A question I often get around Chanukkah is: Is it true that all the candle hae to be at the same level, other than the shamash? Usually the question comes from creativity — someone who wants to repurpose another item as a chanukkiah, or who… Continue reading

Calendar, Chanuka, Chanukkah, Education, Eight, Gratitude, Hakarat Hatov, Holidays, Leadership, Patience, Ritual, Simcha, Study, Synagogue, Talmud, Tikkun Olam, Torah
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
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
September 5, 2022

Media From Me for Elul — Tov! Podcast, Maimonides YouTubes

We're deep into Season 3 of Tov!, my podcast about The Good Place and Jewish ideas related to teshuvah. You can find all the most recent episodes here, or type "Tov!" into your favorite podcast app. Also, I have been logging in at 12:36pm Eastern time each weekday this Elul to teach and talk about some classic teaching about teshuvah, mostly… Continue reading

Calendar, Elul, Ethics, Foregiveness, Halacha, High Holidays, Holidays, Maimonides, Ritual, Rosh Hashanah, Soul, Study, Talmud, Teshuvah, Torah, Tov! Podcast, Yamim Noraim
March 22, 2022

Learning From Leviticus Again

This is the D’var Torah I gave in the synagogue on Saturday morning, March 12, 2022, for Parashat Vayikra. Even though it’s of a specific time and makes reference to that over and over, I read it again after a few years and find that my teachings here still speak. Most years I trot out… Continue reading

Calendar, Coronavirus, Current Affairs, Parashat Hashavua, Ritual, Spirituality, Vayikra
June 22, 2021

Parashat Chukkat — Is Judaism More Red Heifer or #SelfCare?

This was my D’var Torah for Saturday, June 19, 2021, Parashat Chukkat. The article I reference at the start is really good, in ways that somewhat connect to my theme and also jump off in another important direction. I was in the middle of thinking about the parah adumah — the red heifer with its potpouri… Continue reading

Chukkat, Halacha, Harry Potter, Middot, Midrash, Movies, Numbers, Parah, Parashat Hashavua, Ritual, Spirituality, Torah, Young Jewish Adult
March 26, 2021

Pesach Community Message 5781

This is the note I sent out to our congregation on Friday, March 26, 2021 as we get ready for Pesach to begin. Dear Friends: I have a short Pesach agenda to share with you below, but first: I realized a couple days ago how much I want Pesach this year to be like Chanukkah. There's no way, at… Continue reading

Calendar, Coronavirus, Current Affairs, Food, Freedom, History, Holidays, Jewish Education, Justice, Pesach, Ritual, Study