How To Be a Prophet: A Sermon for Yom Kippur 2023

This is the sermon I delivered at Kol Nidren 5784/2023 at Kol Ami Congregation in Thornhill, Ontario. How to be a prophet.Part 1: Nobody wants to be a prophet. Picture this: It’s festival time in ancient Jerusalem. You’re walking down the street, dressed in your finest. Leading your goat to the Temple for your sacrifice. You’re feeling pretty good – happy with things at work, looking forward to…

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Stop and See: A Sermon for Rosh Hashanah 5784

Derlivered on Rosh Hashanah Morning 2023 at Congregation Kol Ami, Thornhill, Ontario. Let me ask you a question: Have you looked at the sky today? The story is told that once the great Rebbe Nachman of Bratzlav was looking out his window and he noticed one of his disciples, Chaim, rushing down the street toward the market. The Rebbe called out, “Chaim, have you looked at the sky today?”“No,…

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The Darker Side of Purim Graggers

It’s every Jewish kid’s favourite activity: each year on Purim, while the megillah is being read, we gleefully shake our graggers and shout aloud, drowning out the name of Haman. Haman (yimach sh’mo – may his name be erased) is, of course, the bad guy of the Purim story. The perennial enemy; the face of evil; the original He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. He tried to destroy us, and so we blot out his…

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The Seeds of Our Redemption

The Seeds of Our Redemption

This is the sermon I delivered at Kol Ami on Rosh Hashanah morning 5783/2022. In what might be the most famous scene in all of English literature, a young man stands before God to contend with the agony of living in an imperfect and sometimes painful world: “To be or not to be” he muses aloud.” That is the question.” What Hamlet is pondering in this very well-known scene is a very human…

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A Listening Heart - OR - How To Be "Right"

A Listening Heart – OR – How To Be “Right”

This is the sermon that I delivered on Kol Nidrei 5782 – 2021. I don’t know about you, but I like to be right. I like to know things; I like to win debates; I like to teach other people what I know. And I don’t think I’m alone. Everybody likes to be right. You can see that all around you – in our classrooms, our workspaces, at our board tables and our dinner tables (especially when we debate…

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If Not Now, When? A Plea for Our Environment

If Not Now, When? A Plea for Our Environment

This is the sermon that I delivered on Yom Kippur morning 5782/2021. The ancient Greeks tell the story of a boy who wanted to touch the sun. The boy’s name was Icarus. And his father was the master craftsman Daedalus. The two of them had been imprisoned by King Minos in the famous Labyrinth of the island of Knossos. (Those of you who know your Greek mythology are nodding in recognition right…

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Ayeka: Where Are You?

"Ayeka: Where Are You?" My sermon from Rosh Hashanah morning: about the ways we are rethinking our lives and our choices during the pandemic.

This is the sermon that I delivered on Rosh Hashanah morning 5782 (2021). Years ago, before GPS or cell phones or Siri, we had to use roadmaps to figure out where we were and where we were going.  (Remember those days?)Some of my earliest memories involve visiting the AAA office with my parents to get a map or a Triptick for an upcoming road trip. I loved watching them highlight the proper route…

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A Reflection for Canada Day 2021

A Reflection for Canada Day 2021

Today is July 1. Canada Day. In most years, it’s a day of celebration. A day of fireworks, flags, and barbecues. A day where Canadians celebrate the goodness of our country. Diversity. Freedom. Health care. Poutine. (Seriously, I love poutine.) Canada Day is also a special day for me personally. July 1, 2011 marked the beginning of my tenure as rabbi of my congregation, only a few days after…

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"Children of One Ancestor" - The Talmud on Being Human

“Children of One Ancestor” – The Talmud on Being Human

In this passage from Talmud Sanhedrin 37a, the Rabbis turn to one of the best-known stories in the Torah – the story of the creation of the world – in order to teach an important lesson about humanity: Why was Adam created alone? To teach that anyone who destroys one soul is considered as if they have destroyed an entire world, and anyone who sustains one soul is considered as if they have…

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The Need for Rest: What We Can Learn From the Land

The Need for Rest: What We Can Learn From the Land

Have you ever thought to yourself, “I’m so busy! I can’t take a break or else I’ll never catch up.” It’s a universal concern – we’ve all felt that way at one time or another. This week’s parashah addresses this issue – only it’s not talking (directly) about people, but rather about land. “Six years you may sow your field and six years you may prune your vineyard and gather in the yield. But in…

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“The Earth God Has Given” - Blessings as Mindfulness and Gratitude

“The Earth God Has Given” – Blessings as Mindfulness and Gratitude

The practice of saying blessing is very ancient in Judaism. In this Talmudic text, the sage Rabbi Levi gives a beautiful explanation and meaning for the practice: Rabbi Levi raised a contradiction between two texts in the Psalms: On the one hand, it is written: “The earth and all it contains belongs to the Eternal” (Psalm 24:1), and on the other hand it is written: “The heavens belong to the…

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As this festival weekend begins, may it be a time of peace and joy, good food and beloved people. May this Shabbat help imbue in us a sense of gratitude for the miracles around us, and may this Pesach fortify us to repair and renew the world around us. Chag Sameach and Shabbat Shalom! #Shabbat #ShabbatShalom #Judaism #Jewish #Pesach #Passover #ChagSameach #HappyPassover https://www.instagram.com/p/CM5UTk2lDHE/?igshid=gtlpu63xokkr

The Unity of All Things: Shabbat with Spinoza

The Unity of All Things: Shabbat with Spinoza

Sometime in the mid 1600s, the young philosopher Baruch Spinoza – recently excommunicated from the Jewish community for his “radical” ideas – wrote about what is fleeting vs. what is lasting. Here are his words (much excerpted): Most things people think to be the highest good may be reduced to these three: wealth, honour, and sensual pleasure. [Evils such as] strife, sadness, envy, fear and…

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From Will to Gratitude: Celebrating Shabbat with Maimonides

From Will to Gratitude: Celebrating Shabbat with Maimonides

The V’shamru prayer says: “For in six days the Eternal made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day God ceased from work and was refreshed (vayinafash).”           Exodus 31:17 Maimonides (the great 12th century philosopher) explains: The word vayinafash (here translated “to be refreshed”) is derived from nefesh (soul), which means it contains the meaning of intention or will. Accordingly…

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Shabbat: A Symbol of Our Hope for a Better World

Shabbat: A Symbol of Our Hope for a Better World

The Mishnah tells us that: On Shabbat, the Levites in the ancient Temple would sing: “Mizmor shir l’yom HaShabbat – A psalm, a song for Shabbat day” (Psalm 92). This is to be understood as being a psalm, a song for the future – for the day that will be nothing but Shabbat and rest forever.Mishnah, Tamid 7:4 Judaism teaches us to understand Shabbat as “Me’ein Olam Haba – A taste of the world to…

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Tu Bishevat: An Urgent Wake-up Call from Our Planet

Tu Bishevat: An Urgent Wake-up Call from Our Planet

Today is Tu Bishevat, the 15th of the Hebrew month of Shevat. It’s known as the “New Year of the Trees.” Why do trees need a new year? In ancient times, this was an accounting cutoff – the borderline between “last year’s produce” and “this year’s produce” for purposes of tithing to the Temple. We needed it in those days, since most of us were farmers, tied to the land. In the Middle Ages, as…

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Miketz: The Treasure That's Right In Front of Us

Miketz: The Treasure That’s Right In Front of Us

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-t5h8g-f56287 The Joseph story is about the things we long for and how far we have to go to fulfill our dreams. The lesson might surprise you!

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