Rabbi Marc D. Rudolph

Return to Who You Are This Shabbat is called “Shabbat TeShuvah” – The Sabbath of Repentance – because it falls between Rosh Hashannah and Yom Kippur, during the Ten Days of Repentance. It is also called “Shabbat Shuvah” – The Sabbath of Return – after the first few words of the special Haftorah for the…

One of my favorite stories is one which you perhaps have heard as well. In the old Soviet Union there was a minimum security work camp. The prisoners worked inside the camp during the day, and then left the camp at the end of work and slept in a village nearby.  A guard stood at…

The Five “R” s of Repentance One of the most popular radio programs in the United States is Car Talk. Tom and Ray Magliozzi, also known as Click and Clack the Tappet Brothers, have been a mainstay of National Public Radio for twenty five years.  Car Talk draws over four million listeners every week.    On…

The Angel Within Whenever he sculpted a piece of marble, Michelangelo would go to the quarry outside of Florence to see the section of rock from which it came, the cliff from which it was hewn.  Without that larger setting or context he could not appreciate or understand the stone that he was sculpting. He…

I've Got A Secret                 Have you ever been driving around in your car, and a song comes on the radio, a song of say, Frank Sinatra, and he’s singing “I’ve got the world on a string” and that song is so upbeat, and you are feeling great because it is a beautiful spring day,…

Love and Justice The story is told of Rabbi Simeon ben Shetah.  He was one of our great sages.  He believed his learning had been a gift to him from his teachers, and he wanted to make it a gift to his students. So, he never charged them for their lessons, but instead earned his…

Balancing Justice and Compassion Last week thousands of young people gathered at Navy Pier in Chicago. The crowd was so large that it spilled off the pier, through the park and along Lake Shore Drive. No, it wasn’t for the Chicago Air Show, which also took place last week.  These were young people, there to…

Sanctifying G-d’s Name The parasha for this week, R’eh, begins with Moses telling the Israelites that G-d has placed before them a choice. Do they want to live a life of blessings and prosperity? Or, do they wish to live lives that are cursed?  If one wishes to be blessed, one must follow the commandments…

  This week’s parasaha, Ekev, contains the proof-text of for the Birkat Ha-Mazon, that is, the Grace after Meals.  “When you have eaten and been satisfied,” the text says, “you shall bless Adonai, your G-d for the good land which G-d has given you.”  The Torah does not tell us HOW we should bless G-d,…

Back From Vacation Shabbat Shalom. It is great to be back here this evening with Congregation Beth Shalom. Middy and I missed you.  We had a wonderful vacation, what I called our “Cultural Tour of the Midwest and the South.” We embarked on a road trip that took us to Springfield Illinois to explore Lincoln…