Sermons
One of the strangest, most difficult and at times most exciting responsibilities of being a rabbi is preparing and delivering a sermon. It is a strange form of communication, almost completely “one way,” with little opportunity for the congregation to respond or for the rabbi to know how it was received. The blank sheet of paper before beginning to write is so daunting: what should I talk about? What should I say about it? How should I say it? But looking back now over forty years of sermons, I realize that being required to stand up in front of the congregation and open my mouth and speak has forced me to think deeply about my own life, Judaism, and our world. Below are many recent sermons and some of the sermons from the past which capture important moments in my life, or the life of our community or the world.
Protect the Shabbat
March 10, 2023
The word v’shamru means “they shall guard.” They shall watch and observe. They shall protect. With this word, the Torah evokes the fragility of Shabbat, it’s vulnerability to all the storms and tides and winds that threaten to erode it.
The Stars
August 10, 2012
But as long as it was still Shabbat, I had permission…in fact I was commanded…not to work. Shabbat offers that liberation to anyone suffering from the pace of modern life. So, having nothing that I needed to do, I went to my bookshelf and pulled off a book I had bought years ago, but never read, titled The Stars: A New Way to See Them, by H.A. Rey….and began to read.
Shabbat Tablecloth
Yom Kippur 2010
A Shabbat tablecloth, a Shabbat delicacy, a Shabbat garment, and the simplest possible Shabbat ritual of candles, wine and challah. A humble beginning. We don’t need a cathedral…a simple structure will do. But we do need that. A new Shabbat covenant, one to which we all can say “yes.”
The Olympics
August 22, 2008
There in front of us, we see a theater in which athletes are faced with our universal human task---how to cope, how to triumph over the chaotic thoughts and the stormy emotions racing every minute through our conscious and sub-conscious mind. Not to turn them off completely, but to harness them and direct their energy toward the goal line….for the athlete, the goal is the medal podium. For the rest of us, the goal is a good life.