Rabbi Marc D. Rudolph

Love Makes the World Go Round What song comes to your mind when you hear the words, “Love Makes the World Go Round?” Perhaps it is this contemplation of the power of physical love by Rhythm and Blues singer Deon Jackson, recorded in 1965 You know Love Makes The World Go Round Love makes the…

To See and Do The Torah is a remarkably terse document that uses surprisingly few words.  For example, if you want to know what Abraham looked like, the Bible does not tell us.  The Bible describes King Saul as “tall and good looking” and describes King David as “handsome”, but that that about does it…

Like Terach or Abraham? This evening I am going to do something quite audacious.  This evening I am going to do something very bold, something that I have never done before on a pulpit. This evening I am going to do something that requires a lot of hutzpah – or “choots-spa”, as Michelle Bachman would…

Servant or Partner? We are smack in the middle of the college football season and talk has begun about who is a candidate for the Heisman Trophy, the award for the best player in college football. Geno Smith, the quarterback for West Virginia, is a leading candidate for the award.  However, his team suffered a…

The Sukkah of Peace The prayer, Hashkivenu, which we say on Friday night, contains the phrase “sukat Shelomecha” three times.  It concludes with the blessing, “Ufros alenu Sukat shlomecha” – spread over us the Sukkah of Your peace.  The question I would like to explore this Shabbat Chol HaMoed Succot – this Intermediate Sabbath of…

Between Israel and the Nations When I practiced as a psychotherapist I learned a valuable lesson – what people tell you is not nearly as important, at times, as what people leave out. So it peaks my interest when our newsletter editor quotes from the Havdalah blessing that is in our prayer book, Kol Haneshama. …

  Olympic Mettle This past summer we were witness to the Olympic Games in London.  Although there had been many concerns about terrorism, transportation, and weather, the games came off magnificently.  A few weeks later London hosted the Paralympics, a multi-sport event for the disabled, in the same stadium venues.  These games, recently concluded, were a…

Well, Well, Well! Why is this night different from all other nights?  I know, it isn’t Passover!  On all other nights our prayers begin with praises to G-d, but on this night we do not begin with praises to G-d.  Perplexing indeed!   What’s more, this holiest day of the Jewish year, a day when we…

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…