Category: Uncategorized
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Building Bridges
The ancient Romans regarded bridge building as a sacred pursuit. The position of bridge builder was an important one in ancient Rome, a city which spanned the holy Tiber River and was in need of bridges to unite the city. The ancient Romans called their priest the “pontifex” which means bridge builder. The word “Pontiff”…
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Parasha Vayikra "Food, Glorious Food"
This evening, in honor of the start of the Book of Leviticus in our annual Torah reading, I am going to talk about food. Food, you ask? We thought the Book of Leviticus is about sacrifices and the laws of purity! But, what are sacrifices if not food? All ancient peoples worshipped their gods by…
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Parasha Vayahel Pekudai "Raising the Roof"
This week’s Torah portion finds us at the end of the Book of Exodus. Moses returns from his audience with G-d on Mount Sinai with a set of instructions on how to build the Mishkan – the portable sanctuary that the Jewish people will take with them as they leave Mt. Sinai and travel to…
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Shabbat Shekalim — Little Boxes
This week’s prophetic portion is NOT about mystical visions of G-d experienced by the prophets. It is not about dire warnings of prophets for the people of Israel to repent or face punishment from G-d. This week’s prophetic portion is NOT about a prophet bring hope and comfort to the oppressed Jewish people. No, this…
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Parasha Yitro — Women and Leadership
It is wonderful to be back with all of my congregants after my month long Sabbatical from CBS. So much has happened since I was last here in December. The last time we met the Jewish people were enslaved in Egypt, the Egyptians endured ten plagues, Moses led the Israelites through the Red Sea. AND…
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Parasha VaYechi: Words to Keep In Mind When Your Kids Drive You Nuts!
There is a verse from the Psalms (62:12) which states, “One thing G-d has spoken, two things I have heard”. The Talmud explains that this refers to the fact that a Biblical verse can have more than one meaning. This statement itself was expanded upon by later rabbis who declared that each verse of Torah…
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Parasha VaYigash: "Jewish American — Or American Jew?"
Are you an American Jew – or a Jewish American? In a recent op-ed piece in the New York Times, the writer Mark Oppenheimer notes that Presidents from Reagan to Trump have assiduously avoided the use of the noun “Jew” and instead have used the adjective, “Jewish” when referring to members of our community. In…
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Parasha Miketz: The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow
I began this sermon by playing the song below: The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow from the play “Annie” According to the Talmud, whether the sun would come out tomorrow was a real concern of the very first human being. “When Adam, on the day of his creation, saw the setting of the sun he…
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Parasha VaYeshev: O' Jerusalem!
Our parasha for this week continues the story of Jacob. Of all of our Biblical ancestors, with the exception of David, Jacob leads the most tumultuous life. He struggles with his brother in the womb, deceives his father, steals the blessing reserved for the first born and must flee his home to escape the anger…
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Parasha Vayishlakh: When Men Behave Badly
I knew what I would speak about this evening when I emerged from my office at noon on Wednesday and was greeted by Dorothy with the following words, “The rest of my day has been ruined.” At first I wondered If my presence had elicited that response, but she quickly followed her remark that Garrison…
Rabbi Marc D. Rudolph 