Sabbatical Thoughts
12/16/2025 01:11:31 PM
Despite having a daughter to loves fashion, I don’t think it has ever made it into a sermon. There is always a first time! Here is a shirt that my brother-in-law Dan bought me - and one for Mimi as well to celebrate sabbatical. (show shirt). The front shows furrows of earth – waiting for seeds and new growth. The back is places we...Read more...
Albert Battel – Increasing Light Through Courage
12/10/2025 12:38:03 PM
A Message for Chanukkah
Based on Times of Israel article by Sabine Sterk and Yad VaShem Righteous Gentile section
10 more days until Chanukkah! Are you ready? Note I did not say: “10 more shopping days” -using the language of a commercialized December holiday time. “Are you ready” is asking if you are spending time thinking about how you will make the themes of Chanukkah come to life each...Read more...
Toldot - Find a Different Way
11/26/2025 10:49:24 AM
Have you ever had a moment or experience where you felt like there simply was not a good alternative for what you faced? You couldn’t think of a different way to do something, or no alternative made sense. And then, either in the moment or in retrospect you realize that there in fact is/was a different way. It requires breaking free of what you thought the rules might be, or veering from conventional wisdom...Read more...
Vayera – Seeing and Not Seeing
11/11/2025 11:55:12 AM
Henry David Thoreau wrote beautifully about observing nature. On July 2, 1857, Thoreau wrote in his Journal:
“Many an object is not seen, though it falls within the range of our visual ray, because it does not come within the range of our intellectual ray. We are not looking for it. So, in the largest sense, we find only the world we look...Read more...
Noah - Saving Humanity
10/29/2025 04:32:41 PM
At its most basic level, the story of Noah is the story of a person whose decisions saved humanity from destruction. It contains fundamental lessons:
We can choose to be righteous.
We can choose to save life.
Our decisions change everything in big and small ways.
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Noah – Emerging
10/25/2025 04:13:38 PM
Noah – Emerging
As I move from Shiva to Shloshim, I have been giving lots of thought to movement from one state of emotional and physical being to another. There is part of us that wants to stay where we are — and Judaism helps us to step forward.
I have taken great comfort from the story of Noah when it comes to this issue. As...Read more...
Shmini Atzeret Yizkor Hostage Release
10/14/2025 02:37:30 PM
What a joy we have experienced! Watching the twenty hostages return home after 738 days has been overwhelming. We have had over two years knowing each day that hostages were suffering – it was so painful, and now it is finally over. The videos of the hostages and their families reuniting show the love, joy, and powerful excitement of dreams being realized. We will sit...Read more...
Bereshit Roosters and Princes - Based on sermon by Rabbi Ed Feinstein
10/11/2025 02:43:56 PM
Bereshit: Roosters and Princes
Based on a sermon by Rabbi Ed Feinstein
There is a...Read more...
Haazinu - Ask Your Elders
10/06/2025 11:49:24 AM
Haazinu - Ask Your Elders
Between services on Yom Kippur, I will sometimes come into my office and pull down one of the big volumes of Talmud and look at certain sections that inspire me on the High...Read more...
Yom Kippur 5786 - Seeds of Change
10/03/2025 11:30:34 AM
Yom Kippur - Seeds of Change
There is a famous story about Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai. He was in the midst of planting a tree, when a student came running. “Rabbi, rabbi, the Messiah has arrived!”...Read more...
Kol Nidre 5786 - Confronting Mortality
10/02/2025 02:41:44 PM
Kol Nidre - Confronting Mortality
My mother of blessed memory, who we all called Bubbe, used to share her concerns: “Nat, you’re working too hard!”
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Vayelech/Shabbat Shuvah The Strength to face a Moment - Sermon on 9/27/2025
09/29/2025 09:50:13 AM
Chazak v’Amatz – be strong and courageous!
These High Holidays I have shared turning to these words of Psalm 27, which is recited throughout the High Holidays, chazak v’amatz libecha as I have sought to navigate this difficult year where strength and courage feel elusive. I talked about finding strength in knowing and acting on your sacred values; gaining strength...Read more...