Rabbi Marc D. Rudolph

This Shabbat I will be away from the synagogue on a Family Retreat with members of Congregation Beth Shalom. We will be spending the weekend at Camp Shai in Wisconsin, just below the North Pole, by my reckoning. This week I am sharing a dvar Torah that I gave on January 17th, 2014, but did…

Rome and Jerusalem Last week I spoke about The Rabbinic Action Committee trip to Rome.  I showed slides of the Jewish Catacombs of Rome, the Fosse Ardeantine memorial, ancient Jewish manuscripts of the Vatican library, our visit to the Ostia-Antica synagogue – the oldest remains of a synagogue outside of the Land of Israel. I…

Embracing our Differences On January 1 I participated in a panel at Wentz Concert Hall for the ninth annual World Peace Day Interfaith Prayer Service.  The theme of the day was “Embracing Differences in Our Changing Communities”.  My first thought was, “Who better than a rabbi to speak about the consequences of failing to embrace…

A “Ribbiting” Debate Just a few weeks ago,   the American Studies Association, an academic organization, voted overwhelmingly to sever ties with all Israeli academic institutions.  This is part of a larger boycott movement in the West that has been the source of great concern to Israel and its supporters.  In recent weeks a Dutch water…

How To Hold A Grudge This letter appeared in the Sunday NY Times advice column called “Social Q’s” on July 5: We had dinner with another couple at an elegant restaurant. I wore a beautiful and very expensive Chanel dress. When I walked in, the woman we were meeting said, “Oh, I have that same…

Reconciliation — “Then” and “Now”  Rabbi Joseph Telushkin relates the following story. It illustrates the rancor that is legend in synagogue life: Two members of a congregation have been feuding for years. On Yom Kippur eve, just before the Kol Nidre service, the rabbi brings the two men together in his office. “You must make…

Balancing our Jewish Lives A week ago our community was shaken, shocked and saddened by the untimely death of Rabbi Shmuel Mann of B’nai Israel in Aurora. This is a profound loss for the B’nai Israel community in particular but also to all of us in the Western Suburbs. Rabbi Mann will be sorely missed.…

What Does G-d Look Like?  Every Sunday morning I visit two classrooms in our Religious School for one of my favorite activities of the week –“Ask the Rabbi”. Usually the teacher and the students prepare a list of questions ahead of time that they want to ask me.  Some of the questions are surprisingly original…

Remembering the Holocaust November 9 and 10th mark the 75th anniversary of the riots against Jews in Germany that we know as Kristallnacht – the night of the shattered glass.  In those 12 hours of mayhem, over 7500 Jewish businesses were attacked, 1000 synagogues were set to fire across Germany and Austria, and nearly 100…

The Power of Words It is a beautiful Jewish tradition for parents to place their hands on the heads of their children and bless them on Friday nights. For sons we say, “May G-d give you the blessings of Ephraim and Manasseh”. For daughters we recite, “May G-d give you the blessings of Sarah, Rebecca,…