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.
Two Kinds of Solitude
Yom Kippur 1994
Yom Kippur, this Day of Atonement, is about both kinds of solitude. On this day we reject the loneliness which we create. We resolve and act to reach out across the distance which we have set between ourselves and the people of our lives.
And on this Day of Atonement, we embrace the first solitude - the aloneness which is at the heart of being human.
Fasting on Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur 1993
The traditional greeting on Yom Kippur, ironically, is “Have an easy fast.” That is the voice of reasonable, common sense Judaism. Tonight I won’t wish you that; I wish you a heart-breaking fast.
Sexual Ethics
Yom Kippur 1986
We Jews, when confronted with ethical problems, have traditionally turned to the Torah for guidance. It is one of the great failures of Judaism in our day that the Torah, and those who teach it, have not been very helpful when it come to the modern dilemmas of whom to have sex with, and when.