At Yom Kippur services yesterday, I announced to my congregation that I will be traveling to Iran on an interfaith peace delegation next month. I devoted the majority of my remarks to our current conflict with Iran, and why I have been so deeply frustrated with our government’s and the Jewish community’s response to this [...]
Archive for the ‘High Holidays’ Category
Understanding Iran, Facing our Fears: A Sermon for Yom Kippur
Posted in Global Activism, High Holidays, Interfaith, Iran, Israel, Peace, Politics, Religion, Sermons on October 10, 2008 | 2 Comments »
The Reconciliation of Civilizations: A Sermon for Kol Nidre
Posted in Coexistence, High Holidays, Interfaith, Islam, Judaism, Religion, Sermons on October 10, 2008 | 1 Comment »
On Kol Nidre 5769 I discussed one of the more positive and hopeful religious trends in recent years. Here’s an excerpt:
Yes, as the saying goes, 9/11 did “change everything” – but not necessarily in the way we might first have assumed. Yes, that tragic day did awaken the American public to the reality of Islamic [...]
A Vow for Yom Kippur
Posted in High Holidays, Judaism, Nonviolence, Peace, Prayer, Religion on October 8, 2008 | No Comments »
If you are interested in making a sacred promise this Yom Kippur, I’m submitting one for your consideration. The Shomer Shalom Jewish Institute for Jewish Nonviolence has developed the following vow (or “intention”) for be recited daily or annually on Yom Kippur. (Frankly, I can’t think of a better supplement to Kol Nidre…)
G’mar Tov - [...]
The End of Empire: A Sermon for Rosh Hashanah
Posted in Elections 2008, Energy Efficiency, Energy Policy, Environmentalism, Health Care, High Holidays, Judaism, Politics, Poverty, Religion, Sermons, War on October 5, 2008 | 3 Comments »
My sermon for Rosh Hanshanah Day 5769 was something of a sequel to the one I delivered the night before. I’ve reworked it here, based on a version I gave today at Lake St. Church’s World Community Sabbath. (Those of you who read the previous sermon will notice I carried some passages over into this [...]
The Season of our Sustenance: A Sermon for Erev Rosh Hashanah
Posted in Environmentalism, Fair Trade, Global Activism, Green Buildings, HIV/AIDS, High Holidays, Hunger, International Aid, Judaism, Poverty, Religion, Sermons, Spirituality, Tzedakah on October 2, 2008 | No Comments »
As I sat down to write my sermons this New Year, I somehow found myself returning to the theme of “sustainability.” Click below for my remarks on Erev Rosh Hashanah:
Go Rabbis for Obama!
Posted in Current Events, Elections 2008, High Holidays, Politics, Religion on September 18, 2008 | 3 Comments »
Big, big kudos to Chicago-area rabbis Steve Bob and Sam Gordon for organizing Rabbis for Obama! As of this writing over 400 rabbis (and counting) have signed up to show their support. And this just in: yesterday 900 rabbis joined Obama for a conference call in which he answered questions and spoke eloquently about a [...]
Shanah Tovah From the Geneva Initiative
Posted in Coexistence, High Holidays, Israel, Palestine, Peace on September 2, 2008 | 2 Comments »
Today was Rosh Hodesh (the beginning of the month) of Elul: the month of soul introspection that precedes the Jewish New Year. Apropos of the season, I thought I’d share this remarkable new year’s greeting: a clip of the Palestinian partners of the Geneva Initiative wishing their Jewish friends a Shanah [...]
Sluggin’ Kapporos
Posted in Food, High Holidays, Judaism, Religion on August 25, 2008 | 1 Comment »
The JTA reported today that for the second year in a row, PETA is calling for an investigation into the pre-Yom Kippur ritual of kapparot - the, shall we say, “quaint” rite in which the sins of a person are symbolically transferred to a [...]
Coming Home: A Sermon for Yom Kippur
Posted in High Holidays, Judaism, Reconstructionism, Religion, Sermons, Shavuot, Spirituality on October 1, 2007 | 1 Comment »
For those interested in an aftertaste of the High Holidays, here’s a short excerpt from my Yom Kippur sermon:
As for me, I’ve always felt it is far too early to write the epitaph for synagogues just yet. I do believe in congregations. I do believe that congregations are still places where great and important and [...]
Night of Our Disavowal: A Sermon for Kol Nidre
Posted in Gun Control, High Holidays, Judaism, Nonviolence, Peace, Religion, Sermons on September 25, 2007 | 3 Comments »
Here’s an excerpt from the sermon I gave this past Friday on Erev Yom Kippur:
In the end, I believe the path set out for us by our tradition guides us still. The violence in our midst cannot be ignored or wished away. We must acknowledge it, we must face it, and yes, we must respond [...]
