Rabbi Marc D. Rudolph

A few weeks ago I gave a sermon in which I mentioned a film that I had seen called “Twenty Feet from Stardom.” In the sermon I cited the famous story of Rabbi Zusya, who feared that when he died and went to heaven he would be asked not “why were you not Moses,” –…

The phone rings on the wall of Mrs. Gerda Weinblatt’s kitchen in her apartment at 303 Avenue S in Brooklyn.  “Mrs. Weinblatt?”  a voice says.  “I have Worthington Rosecroft of Lakeview Capital on the line.  Please hold.”                                    …

Twenty Feet from Stardom This past Monday I saw a movie called “Twenty Feet from Stardom”.  It focuses on the careers of a number of African American women – Darlene Love, Merry Clayton, Lisa Fisher, Tata Vega  and Judith Hill, to name a few – who provided the background voices to the likes of Mick…

Second Chances Members of our congregation are wonderful when it comes to asking questions.  Some of my best sermons, I think, are based on questions that congregants ask me.  I would venture to say that even the most inquisitive minds in our congregation have never even thought to ask the question I am about to…

This Day of Judgment  A few weeks ago, a young man, Michael Brandon Hill, walked armed into the McNair Elementary School in Georgia and barricaded himself into a small office, and threatened a massacre.  The only person standing between him and another Sandy Hook was the school bookkeeper, Antoinette Tuff. Perhaps you heard the riveting,…

The Kittel The story is told that Elijah the prophet once showed up to a wedding dressed as a beggar. “Please sir,” he asked the father of the bride, “May I come in and have a bite to eat.” Seeing this disheveled man standing before him, the father of the bride ordered to leave –…

A Good Year Good evening. Once again, on behalf of the Cantor and myself, I want to welcome you to our High Holiday services.  Some of us have been together greeting the New Year for some time now – others have joined us this year for the very first time. To all of you, I…

The Songs of our Lives It was really an extraordinary sight!!! A totally unexpected, amazing and startling scene!! During our congregational trip to Israel this summer, we visited Masada, King Herod’s mountain fortress in the Judean desert, the site of the last stand of the Zealots against the Roman Legions in 72 CE.  Our group…

Regaining our Sense of Purpose The year was 1936. The Olympics were being held in Germany, and two Jewish men, Marty Glickman and Sam Stoller, were in Berlin to compete as part of the US Track and Field Team. Glickman was eighteen years old at the time, and scheduled to complete on the 4×100 meter…

Enlarging our Tent Last week I attended a fascinating Webinar hosted by an organization called “Jumpstart.” This was a webinar held exclusively for rabbis across the United States to share the findings of a comprehensive survey done this past year on Jewish giving to charitable causes. Previous surveys have found that  people in the United…