Affording to Let Go of Hametz
04/04/2025 12:18:28 PM
Despite--or perhaps because of--its many nuanced rules, Passover is one of my favorite holidays. We must spend time thinking about it and preparing for it. We lean into its symbols, and imagine what it is like to receive freedom and liberation. We gather as friends and family to have a unique meal together with stories, reflections, and discussions--speaking over our meal in a way that many of us rarely have the time to do. We shift our food...Read more...
This Purim, Dress in Godliness
03/13/2025 02:22:26 PM
Most of us are familiar with the Book of Esther--so familiar that, even as we read it every year, we don't always read it closely. But when we look closely, we can find the deeper, hidden messages in our text.
The first verse of Chapter 5 reads as follows:
אסתר ה׳:א׳
וַיְהִ֣י ׀...Read more...
Seeking Stability
02/06/2025 11:27:18 AM
Rather frequently over the last several years, I have heard or read someone saying along the lines of, "You know, I'm tired of living in unprecedented times. Can I live in precedented times now?"
Between global pandemics, wars, and political turmoil--just to gloss over a few sources of unpredictability we've experienced in recent years--I can understand the sentiment. Living with constant unpredictability is draining and...Read more...
The Grateful Guest
11/27/2024 11:08:24 AM
One of my favorite passages of Talmud appears in Masechet Berachot on page 58a:
Ben Zoma would say: A good guest, what does he say? "How much effort did the host expend on my behalf! How much meat did the host bring before me! How much wine did he bring before me! How many loaves did he bring before me! All the effort that he expended, he expended only for me!"
However, a bad guest, what does he say? "What effort did the...Read more...
High Holy Day Bibliography
10/22/2024 01:56:46 PM
Shalom, and welcome to the Rabbi's Corner of the Beth Shalom website!
I hope that you had a meaningful High Holy Day experience, and that you are entering 5785 renewed and inspired to see growth in the year ahead. Below you will find a bibliography from my Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur sermons in case you would like to do any further reading about some of the subjects that came up in my sermons.
Rosh...Read more...