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Rabbi Ezray's Corner
A PLEA FOR HELP
2010 SERMONS
2009/5770 HIGH HOLY DAYS SERMONS
2009 SERMONS
2009 ANNUAL MEETING REMARKS - DREAMS AND VISION DURING TOUGH ECONOMIC TIMES
RABBI EZRAY'S THOUGHTS ON PESACH AND HIS FAVORITE HAGGADOT
RECOMMENDED READING INDEX
A PLEA FOR HELP
I recently received an email regarding Jeff Tohl from his nephew, Michael Tohl, explaining his dire medical situation. Please take a moment to watch this You Tube video.
They say the best odds of matching a donor is within the same ethnic community. However there is such a low population of Jewish people registered both domestically and internationally, that they haven’t found a match for him. And Jeff Tohl is not the only Jew struggling to find a match…
How can you help? You can join Be The Match.
Fill out their registration form online and they will send you a pre-paid postage kit in the mail, to do a cotton swab test at home. Use the code: hope4jeff. Questions regarding the possible donor processes, and donor eligibility requirements can be answered on the registry link.
I appreciate your consideration of this true mitzvah, and wish a sincere Refuah Shlema to Jeff Tohl.
2010 SERMONS
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Bereshit – Embracing our Divinity
One of my heroes is Natan Sharansky. As an activist in the human rights movement, supporting the emigration of Soviet Jews to Israel, he was imprisoned for nine years in the Soviet Union.
Click here to read Rabbi Ezray's entire sermon entitled Embracing our Divinity
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Can We Change?
Sermon written with Rabbi Barry Katz
Can people change? Or does habit, inertia, the inability to look honestly at ourselves make us the same today as we were yesterday, and the same tomorrow as we are today?
Click here to read Rabbi Ezray's entire sermon entitled Can We Change?
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Noah – Fighting Climate Change
This year the story of Noah brings us an especially powerful and urgent message. This famous story of the great flood focuses our attention on the potential destruction of life on our planet, as well as the actions we must take to prevent this outcome. Looking carefully at the details of the flood story can inspire us to embrace our commitment to preserve the web of life.
Click here to read Rabbi Ezray's entire sermon entitled Noah - Fighting Climate Change
2009/5770 HIGH HOLY DAYS SERMONS
Sukkot
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Gratitude
I love the holiday of Sukkot. It has such depth and breadth of meaning.
On the most basic level it is about gratitude: Gratitude for the bounty with which we have been blessed.
- Gratitude for the natural world that surrounds us.
- Gratitude for freedom and the hard journey freedom requires.
There is so much to be grateful for.
Click here to read Rabbi Ezray's entire Sukkot sermon entitled Gratitude.
Yizkor
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Sacred Appreciation of Legacy
On Rosh HaShana I taught that Isaac came from Beer L’chai Roi – The Well of Life and Seeing, before meeting his bride Rebekah. I suggested that he went to a place connected with Hagar, a maternal figure in his life who previously encountered God at the same spot during a difficult moment in her life, in order to pull from her spirit as he faced his own pain.
I asked you to think about the wells of Life and Seeing in your life. Where do you go? Whose spirit do you pull from? – Yizkor is the time we turn to our Wells of Life and Seeing as we struggle with the pain of lost loved ones who are not here with us.
I want to share with you some of the Wells of Life and Seeing that I go to during difficult times.
Click here to read Rabbi Ezray's entire Yizkor sermon entitled Sacred Appreciation of Legacy
Yom Kippur
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Why Faith Matters
In his book Why Faith Matters, Rabbi David Wolpe describes a scene that I related to in the core of my soul. He is at the bedside of a dear congregant and friend who is dying of cancer and asks Rabbi Wolpe, “Why?”
“Why am I sick?”
“Why must I die?"
“Why must I leave my children and grandchildren?”
I held my breath waiting to read what he wrote – knowing how inadequate I often feel in the face of these questions that have been posed to me in a variety of ways over the course of my years in the rabbinate.
Click here to read Rabbi Ezray's entire Yom Kippur sermon entitled Why Faith Matters.
Kol Nidre
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Chosenness: A Concept to Reclaim
The late contemporary Rabbi, Arthur Hertzberg shares a story of growing up in Poland. It had been sixty years since he left Poland, but the story stuck in his head. He was a five year old boy, walking home when Polish children chased him down the street screaming “parzhive zhid, - dirty Jew.” He managed to outrun his pursuers and breathless and trembling burst into his house where his mother calmed him down. She told him that it was wrong of those children to want to hurt him because he was different.
Click here to read Rabbi Ezray's entire Kol Nidre sermon entitled Chosenness: A Concept to Reclaim.
First Day, Rosh Hashana
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Resilience
Each passing year I find myself pulled toward the Bible character Isaac. Isaac is the child who did everything right. He was the apple of his parent’s eye – a loving son. He listened to his dad, dutifully walking up the mountain as Abraham instructed. Yet his innocent, sincere faith did not spare him from pain – as we picture the reading from the second day of Rosh Hashanah, we cringe in terror as Abraham binds Isaac on the altar – lifting his knife to sacrifice him – coming within seconds of killing him. I cannot imagine the trauma he must have felt to see his father’s zealous intensity as the knife flashed before his eyes.
Click here to read Rabbi Ezray's entire Rosh Hashana sermon entitled Resilience.
Second Day, Rosh Hashana
We are losing our ability to talk civilly to each other – as a nation, in Israel and in our own Jewish community and congregation about Israel. The stakes are high - civil discourse is the essence of democracy and of a healthy community. We are witnessing a toxic time where issues play out with venom - and the implications are dramatic.
Regardless of our personal politics, we should be disturbed by the tone and tenor of the debate in America. It is disturbing when forums about health care routinely result in name-calling, interruption of speakers and vilification of those with whom we disagree. We should be alarmed when a Congressman calls the President a liar during a speech. And it is both sides of the political spectrum that have been infected by pervasive nastiness.
I believe we face a landmark moment in America, in Israel and in our Jewish community. Our Rabbis teach that it was sinat chinam – causeless hatred – that brought about the destruction of the Temple. That type of hatred is present in our midst. It is time to lift our voices in a call for civil discourse and ethical disagreement.
Click here to read Rabbi Ezray's entire Rosh Hashana sermon entitled Civil Discourse in America, Israel and Our Congregation.
Elul
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Who is Ryan Nece and what does he have to do with Elul?
Elul is the opportunity to become who we are capable of becoming. It provides us with the opportunity to move from is to ought. We analyze what is, and think about what ought to be.
In the process of moving from is to ought, we gain inspiration from stories around us to remind us how each individual can make a difference.
Ryan Nece, a professional football player whose simple act has rippled through the lives of hundreds of people in positive ways, has just such a story.
Click here to go to Ryan Nece's website and learn more about his charitable foundation.
2009 SERMONS
Chanukah - Trust in a New Beginning
Chanukah - Pride and Courage
Shoftim – Pursuing Justice
Shavuot Yizkor - Second Chances
The Power of Ritual
Pesach Yizkor - Creating Community
Eulogy for Sara Pepper
The Israel Trip
Balak – A Response to Toxic Religion
Shmot - The Courage to Act
Yizkor Shemini Atzeret
Chukat - Understand the Source
2008 Rosh haShanah Sermon - Co-Creators of Sacred Community
RECOMMENDED READING INDEX
These are books recommended by Rabbi Ezray and Bill Futornick. Enjoy!
Prayer
Spirituality and Mysticism
Jewish Values and Ethics
Introduction to Judaism
Jewish Holidays
Life Cycle
Jewish Parenting
Torah Study
Theology and Jewish Thought
Jewish History
Israel
Prayer
Entering Jewish Prayer - Rabbi Reuven Hammer
A Guide to Jewish Prayer – Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz
Talking to God – Naomi Levy
The Way into Jewish Prayer – Lawrence A Hoffman
Spirituality and Mysticism
Jewish Meditation – Aryeh Kaplan
6 Jewish Spiritual Paths – Rabbi Rifat Soncino
The Jewish Lights Spirituality Handbook - edited by Stuart Matlins
The Way into Jewish Mystical Tradition – Lawrence Kushner
The Mystic Quest – David Ariel
Jewish Values and Ethics
The Book of Jewish Values – Rabbi Joseph Telushkin
Jewish Wisdom – Rabbi Joseph Telushkin
A Code of Jewish Ethics – Rabbi Joseph Telushkin
To Do the Right and the Good: A Jewish Approach to Modern Social Ethics – Elliot Dorff
Love Your Neighbor and Yourself: A Jewish Approach to Modern Personal Ethics -Elliot Dorff
The Way into Tikun Olam – Elliot Dorf
To Heal a Fractured World – Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
The Sacred Art of Livingkindness: Preparing to Practice – Rabbi Rame Shapiro
Why Be Good? - Byron Sherwin
It’s a Mitzvah – Rabbi Brad Artson
Introduction to Judaism
To Life – Harold Kushner
Jewish Literacy – Rabbi Joseph Telushkin
Why Be Jewish – Rabbi David Wolpe
A Book of Life: Embracing Judaism as a Spiritual Practice – Michael Strassfield
Essential Judaism – George Robinson
Tough Questions Jews Ask – Rabbi Edward Feinstein
Jewish Holidays
The Jewish Way – Rabbi Irving Greenberg
The Jewish Holidays – Rabbi Michael Strassfields
Seasons of our Joy - Rabbi Arthur Waskow
A Time to Every Purpose: Letters to a Young Jew – Jonathan Sarna
The Tapestry of Jewish Time: A Spiritual Guide to Holidays and Life-Cycle Events – Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin
The Sabbath – Abraham Joshua Heschel
A Day Apart: Shabbat at Home – Noam Zachs Zion and Shawn Fields-Meyer
Passover Seder – Dr. Ron Wolfson
Leading the Passover Journey – Rabbi Nathan Laufer
Life Cycle
Finding Each Other in Judaism – Harold M. Schulweis
Celebration and Renewal: Rites of Passage in Judaism - edited by Rella Geffen
The Jewish Life Cycle Rites of Passage from Biblical to Modern Times – Ivan G. Marcus
The New Jewish Baby Book: Names, Ceremonies and Customs – A Guide for Today - Anita Diamant
Choosing a Jewish Life – Anita Diamant
Choosing Judaism – Lydia Kukoff
Putting God on the Guest List: How to Reclaim the Spiritual Meaning of Your Child’s Bar or Bat Mitzvah – Rabbi Jeffrey Salkin
Danny Siegel’s Bar and Bat Mitzvah Mitzvah Book (A Practical Guide for Changing the World) - Daniel Siegel
Whose Bar/Bat Mitzvah Is This, Anyway? – Judith Davis
The New Jewish Wedding – Anita Diamant
A Time to Mourn, A Time to Comfort: A Guide to Jewish Bereavement – Ron Wolfson
Mourning and Mitzvah – Anne Brener
Consolation: The Spiritual Journey Beyond Grief – Maurice Lamm
Making Loss Matter: Creating Meaning in Difficult Times – Rabbi David Wolpe
To Begin Again: The Journey Toward Comfort, Strength and Faith in Difficult Times – Naomi Levy
Jewish Parenting
Parenting as a Spiritual Journey – Nancy Fuchs-Kreimer
The Blessing of a Skinned Knee: Using Jewish Teachings to Raise Self-Reliant Children – Wendy Mogel
Becoming a Jewish Parent – Daniel Gordis
Jewish Families and Life – Yosef Abramowitz and Rabbi Susan Silverman
The Jewish Parents’ Almanac – Julie Hilton Danan
Torah Study
Biblical Literacy – Rabbi Joseph Telushkin
How to Read the Jewish Bible – Marc Zvi Brettler
The Bible As it Was – James Kugel
The Five Books of Moses - Robert Alter
The Five Books of Moses – Everett Fox
The Torah – A Women’s Commentary – Tamara Cohn Eskenazi, Andrea L. Weiss
A Torah Commentary for our Times – Harvey Fields
The Commentators Bible – Michael Carasik
The Prophets – Abraham J. Heschel
Biblical Images – Adin Steinsaltz
Messengers of God – Elie Wiesel
Walking the Bible – Bruce Feiler
Studies in Bereshit, Shmot, VaYikra, Bamidbar, Devarim – Nechama Leibowitz
Genesis The Beginning of Desire – Aviva Zornberg
Bringing Psalms to Life – Daniel Polish
Theology and Jewish Thought
The Way into Encountering God in Judaism – Neil Gilman
Sacred Fragments – Neil Gilman
Healing of Shattered Hearts – David Wolpe
Why Faith Matters – David Wolpe
Can We Change?
Sermon written by Rabbi Nathaniel Ezray, with Rabbi Barry Katz
Can people change? Or does habit, inertia, the inability to look honestly at ourselves make us the same today as we were yesterday, and the same tomorrow as we are today?
Have a question for the Rabbi? Need to let him know about an upcoming lifecycle event? Contact Rabbi Ezray by email or at 650-366-8481.