Shlach - Believe in Peace
06/21/2025 09:13:07 PM
On the second day of Rosh Hashanah, I shared with our community some of my experiences being in Israel during the Gulf War. I was in Jerusalem on a post-hight-school gap year program. We were mostly Americans, and when the war began, the dorm emptied out. Something like 80-90% of the girls went home. Those of us who remained were issued gas masks, and had the experience of rushing to a sealed room several times a day in response to...Read more...
Rabbi Ilana's Goodbye Sermon
06/14/2025 03:00:28 PM
I still remember exactly what I spoke about in my first sermon for CBJ. It was short and sweet. I’ve noticed over time, as I've gotten more comfortable being a rabbi -- my sermons have been growing longer. Today, I’ve got a lot to say. Forgive me in advance for my length, and even more so for the imperfection of my words.
Prior to World War II, Jews were the driving force of Germany’s intelligentsia. To give you...Read more...
Nasso - Never Let Them Make You Small
06/07/2025 09:13:49 PM
Take your fist, and hold up your thumb for a second so it covers my face.
It’s kind of amazing, I’m only ~20 feet away from you, but that’s enough that the half inch or so of your thumb can completely hide my face.
Please put your thumbs down, I want to see your faces.
I want to talk to you today about the ways in which...Read more...
Behar – God Owns the Land
05/24/2025 02:12:21 PM
Behar – God Owns the Land
This has been a very painful week for the Jewish community. To learn that two beautiful young people, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, who worked at the Israeli embassy, were murdered in cold blood after attending a Jewish communal event at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington DC – has left us shaken and upset.
We grieve. Let’s allow ourselves to grieve and...Read more...
Change is Hard
05/10/2025 02:06:42 PM
Someone at my first night seder offered an astute observation. I’m abashed to say, we had a full table, and I can’t remember who said this, as I would have liked to give them credit. They pointed out that Judaism often asks us to “remember”. The Purim-Passover season begins with Shabbat Zachor, the Shabbat on which we are command
Change is hard. Even when a change is overall positive, there is still a...Read more...
Their Stories are Part of Ours
04/30/2025 06:08:04 PM
Someone at my first night seder offered an astute observation. I’m abashed to say, we had a full table, and I can’t remember who said this, as I would have liked to give them credit. They pointed out that Judaism often asks us to “remember”. The Purim-Passover season begins with Shabbat Zachor, the Shabbat on which we are commanded to remember Amalek. In the kiddush every Friday night, we make a declaration: זכר...Read more...
Grieving with Israel and Bibas and Lifshitz Families
02/22/2025 10:52:55 AM
Israel President Isaac Herzog captured our emotions this week, when he said: “The hearts of an entire nation lie in tatters.”
Every loss is wrenching and devastating. This year has brought all kinds of anguish to our heats and our souls – but the loss of children hits in an even deeper place. Kfir was 9 months and Ariel was 4 when they were kidnapped. In many ways, we felt like they were our children. Their red hair and smiles...Read more...
Yitro - Can We Talk to Each Other?
02/19/2025 11:01:01 AM
Soon after the election and before the inauguration, I listened to a class taught by Rabbi Jan Urbach for the Jewish Theological Seminary entitled Speaking Across the Divide. She is wondering about the question that I have lifted up for many years that has grown even more difficult and painful in the past month: Can we as a country, a Jewish community or synagogue or even across national borders continue to stay connected despite our...Read more...
Hostage Stories and Inspiration
02/10/2025 12:27:43 PM
I have often taught and spoken about life being a synthesis of contrasting truths and/or emotions. Wisdom and well-bring come as we try to hold onto every piece of the contrast. Sometimes this is hard to do. These past weeks I have found the intensity of those contrasts truths connected to hostages and hostage release to be challenging to hold. One...Read more...
Shmot – Responding to Challenging Times with Hineni
01/18/2025 12:08:06 PM
I love our beautiful sanctuary. It is majestic and fills me with awe. And as much as I love its beauty, inspiration and grandeur – my favorite space in the synagogue is the ark in the chapel. The doors are abstract art depicting both the burning bush that was not consumed and the mountain where we received Torah. There are empty spaces in the lattice work revealing hints of the mystery and glimpses of holy Torahs inside...Read more...
From Zero-Sum to Blessing
12/10/2024 11:32:10 AM
Our bar-mitzvah, Oliver, said the most generous things about his brother Noah.
Having known many 13-year-olds with younger siblings, this is very unusual. Oliver, I wish I could have been that gracious to my little sister when I was your age. Today, my sister is my best friend. And she is very smart, and very kind - but I never could have brought myself to say that back then. Certainly not publicly.
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Chanukah - Women Heroes
12/07/2024 12:33:28 PM
Chanukkah is in 20 days. It is time to get ready – not in terms of gifts – but how to make it a holiday of meaning. Sit with that. Make every night a time to reflect and act on the meaning – courage, standing up for your identity, the few against the many, bringing light.
So let me share an esoteric Chanukkah custom: When the candles are...Read more...