Rabbi Marc D. Rudolph

The Four Freedoms Passover is the holiday of storytelling par-excellence.  We are told four times in the Torah that we must tell our children the story of Passover.  We have developed an elaborate ritual, the Seder, to fulfill this commandment, and a book, the Haggadah, literally, “The Telling” to teach our children the story.  But,…

Making Mistakes Our parasha for this week, Vayikra, deals with the types of sacrifices that may be brought to the Tabernacle.  The first three sacrifices are the olah offering, the meal offering and the peace offering. These are voluntary offerings, brought by an individual who wants to elevate themselves spiritually.  The next offering discussed is…

 What is our “Fair Share” ? This week in our Torah reading we come to the conclusion of the Book of Exodus and the conclusion of the account of the building of the Mishkan, or Tabernacle in English, the portable sanctuary that the Israelites built in the desert.  We have been reading about this for…

And oftentimes excusing of a faultDoth make the fault the worse by the excuse.~William Shakespeare  In this week’s Parasha, Ki Tissa, the Israelites, under the guidance of Aaron, build a golden calf.  When confronted by Moses as to how he could allow the people to engage in such behavior, Aaron makes… excuses.  First, he blames…

Chim-Chim-Cherubim Our Torah portion for this week is Terumah.  Moses is asked by G-d to instruct the people to bring gifts and contributions from which a place of worship, called a Mishkan, or Tabernacle, will be built. In this parasha G-d also reveals the design of the mishkan, the ark, its furnishings and its vessels,…

Let Holiness Suffuse our Lives There are times in our lives when the presence of G-d is almost palpable – standing at the Grand Canyon at sunrise, witnessing the arrival of our children, experiencing the tenderness and concern of a community at times of loss.  A bar or bat mitzvah is usually one of these…

The Torah tells us that when Moses protested that he could not go before Pharaoh because he could not speak, G-d answers:   “…….See, I place you in the role of God to Pharaoh, with your brother Aaron as your prophet.’” (Exodus 7:1) What an astonishing statement!  What could it mean? A quote by Ralph Waldo…

Recognizing the Good Done to Us by Others This week we begin the Book of Exodus in our Torah reading.  The Book of Genesis left us last week at a high point – Jacob’s family had settled in Egypt, in the Land of Goshen, under the protection of one of their own, Joseph, second in…

Leaving the Comfort Zone   How do we build the courage to draw upon that light we discovered in December and move forward to a new life – spiritually, socially, financially, or educationally?  How do we gain the courage to leave our comfort zone, even when we know that place may not be the best…

Fathers and Sons   In my little town I never meant nothin' I was just my fathers son Saving my money Dreaming of glory Twitching like a finger On the trigger of a gun  As Paul Simon writes, it can be tough to be the son of a well-known father.  Sometimes sons follow in their…