The cornerstone of my religious practice is to treat each person that I encounter as an image of God. Many people of all faiths—and those with no relationship to religious traditions—approach the world in a similar, if not identical manner. …
Today the World is Born “Do you remember how we celebrate Rosh Hashanah,” I asked my children as we were eating dinner the other night. Instantly, four year old Maya lifted her fist to her mouth and let out a…
Ann Arbor Rally in the Aftermath of Charlottesville We begin with a moment of silence. In memory of Heather Heyer and with our thoughts turned to those injured in Charlottesville. I have two words for us to say together this…
A Righteous Person In memory of Rav Pesach Schindler z”l Our Bat Mitzvah, Talia, shared beautifully in her dvar Torah this morning her interest in the Holocaust. It is something that she and I have in common. I also took…
Religious Freedom My family came to the USA from Europe to escape religious persecution. This is a familiar story in the Jewish narrative. On countless occasions we have been mistreated and denied rights because of our religion. Our collective memory…
Princess Leia and Our Only Hope I learned perhaps the most important lesson of my career at a funeral while I was still in school. A well-known rabbi in the community had died, and, adding to what was already a…
Hallelujah Hineni–I Am Here This morning I am going to talk about two words. The first is Hallelujah—Praise the Lord. You might have seen a link that I posted on Facebook this past week showing the opening skit from last…
Lullabies and Bedtime Stories My grandmother, of blessed memory, used to sing to me the following lullaby—join in if you know it: Oif’n Pripritchik brent a faieril un in shtub iz heys un der rebbe lerent kleyne kinderlach dem alef…
Generations Each year, faculty at Beloit College publish “The Mindset List.” The list contains relevant information to help us understand the lens through which newly minted adults, college freshmen, view the world. In recent years we have learned that: Vladimir…
The Blank Page I begin with a blank page. Every summer, I sit with a yellow legal pad and start crafting my sermons for these high holy days. Over time ideas develop into words—words to phrases, phrases to sentences. Some…