Kol Nidre 5786/2026Beth Emet: The Free Synagogue Watch this sermon. The Talmud poses the following scenario: “Two people were walking on a desolate path and there is a jug of water in the possession of one of them. If both drink from the jug, both will die, because there is not enough water. But if…
Tag: High Holy Days
From “I” to “We”: The Sacred Balance of Self and Community on Americas 250th
Rosh Hashanah 5786-2025 Once there was a small village preparing for the king’s visit. The townspeople decided to fill a giant barrel with wine and present it to the king upon his arrival. They concluded that each family of the town would bring one flask filled with wine and pour it into the giant barrel…
Embracing the Paradox of Love
Congregation Sukkat Shalom Yom Kippur 5785/2024 Our Torah begins with the story of creation: “In the beginning God created Heaven and Earth, the earth was chaotic and void, with darkness over the surface of the deep and a wind from God sweeping over the water— God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. God…
Confronting Antisemitism Together
Delivered on Kol Nidre 5773 | 2022 On May 3, 2019 following the shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh and subsequently the attack at a Chabad in Ponway, California, I gave a sermon during which I announced that we would hire an armed guard to protect us. May 3rd, 2019 was the…
Leading a Values-based Life
I am standing in the middle of Cherry Creek State Park on a beautiful morning. I look west toward the mountains which sit enveloped in a summer haze. The green trees in the distance rustle in the wind. I pick up a shell from my pocket and drop it in the lower barrel of the…
