Rabbi Marc D. Rudolph

We The People For me, one of the most significant things about our first congregational trip to Israel this June was seeing Israel through fresh, bright and clear eyes.  Although I have traveled to Israel many times by now, there is, of course much I have not seen. Yet it was quite amazing to me…

Justice and Trayvon Martin This summer I had the opportunity   to do some readings that I had put off for too long. One of these readings was a book entitled The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson. Wilkerson,  a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, writes about one of the great untold stories of the twentieth…

What Makes a Person?  It happened again last week, as it has happened countless times every year , in every synagogue, in every country of the world, in every era. We gathered for mincha/havdalah services last Shabbat hoping to have a minyan so we can call up a person to the Torah for the very…

How should one address the spiritual leader of a synagogue? When I was a seminarian at the Academy for Jewish Religion, I had a student pulpit at a small synagogue in Holyoke, Massachusetts. One of the first questions the President of the congregation asked me was, “How should we call you?”  This is a crisis…

In a few days it will be Mothers Day. Of course,we should not need a special day in the year to honor our mothers — every day should be “Mothers Day”. The idea that we should respect and honor our mothers each and every day is part of the Ten Commandments. Caring for and honoring…

Rewards and Punishment The story is told of one Rabbi Samuel, who, on a visit to Rome, found a bracelet. The next day the Empress announced that she had lost a precious bracelet. If the person who found the bracelet returned it within thirty days, he would be richly rewarded. If, however, it was found…

Faith in the Face of Terror in Boston Once again our nation, our world, witnessed an act of unspeakable violence, cruelty and cowardice on Monday, April 15th. Amidst the celebration of the 117th running of the Boston Marathon, tragedy and horror was experienced by our American community. An eight year old boy, waiting to cheer…

The Spectrum of Kashrut As many of you are aware, I have been leading a conversion class this year. That course will conclude its twentieth and final session on April 25. On May 8, members of that group and their families will travel to Wilmette where they will go before a Bet Din and immerse…

Freedom to ….. This is the season of freedom. This week, hundreds of thousands of college students will unloosen the fetters of the chains of their college classes and head for the warm climates of Florida, Texas and Mexico for the annual rite of “Spring Break”. These young people are continuing a cultural tradition that…

Moses’ Absence This Monday night is the beginning of Passover. Around the world millions of Jews will be sitting down with friends and family to the Passover Seder.  Attending a Passover Seder is probably the one Jewish ritual that almost all Jewish people fulfill every year. They may not come to synagogue, they may not…