Clergy Sermons

This has been a difficult month for our country. From mass shootings to the Supreme Court’s   expected ruling on abortion, to the January 6th hearings, many people are feeling strong emotions, including, but not limited to anger.

Maimonides said “Whosoever yields to anger, if he be a wise man his wisdom leaves him, and if he be a prophet his prophecy leaves him." (Human Dispositions 2:3) Notice the phrase “yields to...Read more...

Years ago, before I became a Rabbi, and while I was still more deeply influenced by my years of training in biology, my friend Cheryl’s father died. After meeting with the funeral director, she stopped by my home to seek the comfort of a friend. During that conversation, she said something I will never forget: “He’s all alone there. I don’t want him to be alone.”

Her feeling surprised me. I was aware that Jewish tradition...Read more...

Sometimes when I give a sermon, I look to bring in multiple points of view, as we explore a complicated issue together. Other times, I may choose to speak drawing on the prophetic tradition, meaning that I am going to tell you my truth based on an assessment of an urgent wrong, with a call to action. I'll speak more about the prophets later; I feel that the events of this week demanded that I find that voice. I hope that if you disagree with...Read more...

In Jewish culture, we have two very different phrases to refer to someone who is deceased. 

Alav Hashalom (for a male) or Alehah HaShalom (for a female) means "peace is upon her."

Zichronah Livrachah or Zichrono Livrachah. Usually translated "Of blessed memory," but it could also mean "May his memory be a blessing."

As far as I know, the two terms are used interchangeably. But they mean very different...Read more...

This week’s 60 Minutes episode told the story of eleven-year-old Austin Bruenger, a fifth grader at Roosevelt Elementary School in Milwaukee. He reminded me of some of the kids here; sweet, fun and bright. He shared the story that as a nine-year-old, when the pandemic hit, he initially thought that some time off of school would be great. But as the weeks passed with remote learning, his disconnect...Read more...

Quite a few years ago, when I was a much younger adult, my parents-in-law spent a sabbatical year in Cambridge, England, and my husband David and I flew out to visit them for a couple of weeks. We must have rented bikes, because the story I want to share with you happened when we were out on a bike ride around town. I was biking a little slower than the others, and David and his parents were about half a block ahead of me when a middle-aged...Read more...