Category: Uncategorized
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Parashat Bamidbar "Torah for Everyone"
Before the Sinai Desert was returned to Egypt in the Peace treaty of 1978, it was possible to take a bus directly from Tel Aviv to the tip of the Sinai Peninsula, Sharm el Sheik. I boarded that bus alone on my Spring Break of 1972 when I spent a year in Israel. I intended…
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Charge to our Beth Shalom Confirmation Class 5777
This week we complete the reading of the Book of Leviticus in our synagogues around the world. It is a difficult book for us to read, because it deals mostly with subjects – animal sacrifice and ritual impurity – that are far removed from contemporary concerns. Traditionally this was the book with which young children…
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Parasha Emor — What it Means to be a Jew
I am going to give you a quiz tonight. Are you ready? Which one of the following common Jewish surnames does not belong in the group: Katz; Rappaport; Kahan; Kagan; Kornfeld. ………. The answer: Kornfeld does not belong with the others. The rest are all surnames that are associated with being from the priestly class…
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Three Strikes and You're a Winner — Parasha Achare Mot
Dave and Mike, both in their 90s had played professional baseball together and, after they retired, they remained close friends. Dave suddenly fell deathly ill. Mike visited Dave on his deathbed. After they talked a while and it became obvious that Dave had only a few more minutes to live, Mike said, “Listen, old friend.…
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Everything Can Wait Shabbat Chol HaMoed Pesach 5777
We Jews seem to do things backwards! We read and write the Hebrew language right to left instead of left to right. We open a book from the back cover. We remember the day of a person’s death not the day of a person’s birth. A few years ago I spoke about why our High…
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Passover and Parash Tzav: It's No Shame
Monday evening Jews around the world will gather with families, friends and neighbors for our Seders to tell the story of Passover. The word “seder” is related to the word we use for our prayer book, “siddur”. Both come from the Hebrew root meaning “order”. Just as the Siddur presents our prayers in a particular…
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Some Reflections on "Chad Gadya"
In 1947, in the wake of the United Kingdom’s decision to relinquish their Mandate for Palestine, the United Nations formed the Special Committee on Palestine. The purpose of the commission was to investigate the conflict in Palestine and to make a recommendation on future governance of the area. David Ben Gurion, the future Prime Minister…
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Shabbat Ha-Chodesh: Acts of Defiance
Last night Middy and I went to Chicago’s Symphony Hall to hear a program called “Defiant Requiem: Verdi at Terezin”. This was a benefit concert for the Jewish United Fund /Jewish Federation of Chicago Holocaust Community Services program. This program helps Holocaust survivors in Chicagoland to live out their sunset years with hope and dignity.…
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Jewish-Muslim Dialogue
A few weeks ago I delivered a sermon on four common misunderstandings about Judaism. It was rather well received, and many of you commented that you learned something new about our own religion! This week I attended a talk sponsored by the Chicago Board of Rabbis that addressed specifically Muslim misunderstandings about Jews. The talk…
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The Challenge of Purim
We begin our celebration of Purim tomorrow evening with our Megillah reading. On Sunday morning with our Purim carnival. Purim is a story for the ages. Haman, the villain of the story, is the archetypical anti-Semite, the kind of government official that we have seen often in Jewish history. He is a wicked man whose…
Rabbi Marc D. Rudolph 