Category: Uncategorized
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Yom Kippur am 5782 "Our Parents our Teachers"
This morning I am going to give a sermon on something I have never given a sermon on before. Or I am going to give a sermon on the meaning of our Yizkor service. I realize that many of you still have both parents living, and therefore do not recite Yizkor. But please, bear…
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Kol Nidre Sermon 5782 "I Place God Before Me at all Times"
A story is told of a man who stopped attending his usual synagogue and was now frequenting a minyan in another synagogue. One day he happened to bump into the Rabbi of his previous synagogue, and the rabbi asked him where he was praying these days. The man answered: “I am praying at…
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Rosh Hashanah Sermon on Israel (Day 1)
When I became your Rabbi 13 years ago, I was asked by a congregant about my goals. I answered that one of my goals was to help Congregation Beth Shalom develop a closer relationship with Israel. As a University Junior I had been a student at the One Year Program at Hebrew University in…
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Sermon for Rosh Hashanah Eve 5782
As most of you may know, ten days ago I announced my retirement as Rabbi of Congregation Beth Shalom effective June, 2023. In making this decision I am reminded of the parent who sends a note to explain her son’s tardiness for kindergarten. “Please excuse Johnny for being late for school this morning.…
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What Does It Mean to "Choose Life"? Parasha Nitzavim
Next week we will celebrate Rosh Hashanah, with its evocative prayers and stirring melodies. In our Amidah prayer we will add the verses “zachrenu le hayyim, melech hafetz bahayyim, vchatvenu besefer hachayimm” — Remember us for life, sovereign who desires life, and inscribe us in the book of life.” The imagery of a “Book…
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Repentance and Forgiveness Parsha Shoftim
There’s a beautiful Hasidic teaching that says there are five most important mitzvot in the entire Jewish tradition. The first is actually from this week’s portion: Tamim tihiyeh. Be wholehearted with God. (Deuteronomy 18:13) Shiviti Adonai. Always place God before you. (Psalms 16:8) V’ahavta l’reiecha kamocha. Love your neighbor as yourself. (Leviticus 19:18) B’chol…
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The Ox and the Donkey Parsha Ki Tetze
There are many reasons we have difficulty relating to the mitzvot that are given in the Torah. Simply put, most of us grew up in urban areas whereas the mitzvot in the Torah were given to people who lived on farms and worked the land. We city dwellers are quite detached from the source…
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Tonight I want to tell you the tale of two disputes. The first is a famous dispute between the conductor Leonard Bernstein and the pianist Glenn Gould. The second is a dispute related in this week’s Torah portion between Moses and Korah. On the evening of Friday, April 6, 1962, Leonard Bernstein was…
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Half Empty or Half Full?
I have heard it said that a pessimistic person thinks that the glass is half empty. The optimistic person says that the glass is half full. And the hopeful person says, “You may be using the wrong glass!” In this week’s parasha the Israelites are poised to enter the Land of Canaan. Although it is…
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Time to Move Forward
Silver trumpets from KingTut’s tomb. 1326BCE This week’s Torah portion introduces us to two objects that were of great importance to the Israelites as they traveled through the wilderness. Both are made of precious metals, the first of gold, the second of silver. Both were to be made by hammering, a process of shaping metals…
Rabbi Marc D. Rudolph 