Sermon Archives

SHABBAT SERMONS BY YEAR

 

2014

• Part 1 - Shabbat Vayishlach - December 6, 2014 
• Part 2 - Shabbat Vayishlach - December 6, 2014 
• Lessons from Ferguson, For Us and For Israel  -  Shabbat Vayetze - November 29, 2014 
• Shabbat Toldot - November 22, 2014 
• Shabbat Noach - October 25, 2014 
• Are Curiosity and Religiosity Compatible? - Shabbat Bereshit - October 18. 2014 
• Labor Day and the Jews - Shabbat Ki Tetzei - September 6, 2014
• Doing the Right Thing for the Right Reasons - Shabbat Korach - June 21, 2014
• Are We Part of the "Evil Congregation"? - Shabbat Shelach Lecha - June 14, 2014
• "Que Sera, Sera!" v. "Do the Right Thing!" - Shabbat Behukkotai - May 16, 2014
• "Notes for Shabbat HaGadol drashah" - Shabbat HaGadol - April 12, 2014
• "Maintaining Pure Homes" - Shabbat Mitzorah - April 5, 2014 
• "Why Do We Eat Matzah?" - Shabbat Tazria - March 29, 2014 
• "Let's Celebrate" -Shabbat Vayikra - March 8, 2014 
• "Looking Back and Looking Forward" - Shabbat Pekudei March 1, 2014 
• "The Importance of Character" - Shabbat Ki Tissa - February 15, 2014 
• "The Importance of Doing It All the Time, Every Day" - Shabbat Titsaveh - February 8, 2014 
• "What Would Yitro Say?" - Shabbat Yitro - January 18, 2014
• "Taking the Initiative: Reflections on Ariel Sharon" -  Shabbat Bo - January 4, 2014

2013

• "What's So Special About the Number 17?" - Shabbat Vayechi - December 14, 2013
• "A Tribute to Nelson Mandela" - Shabbat Vayiggash - December 6, 2013
• "What They Said -- And What They Didn't Say" - World Series Reflections - November 2, 2013
• "What Do Janet Yellen and Scarlett Johansson Have in Common?" - Shabbat Lech L'Cha - October 12, 2013

2012

• The Challenge of Hatikvah - Shabbat Parashiyot Tazria - Metzora - April 28, 2012
• Why Do So Many Jews Become Doctors? - Shabbat Lech Lecha - October 27, 2012

2010

• The Limits of Freedom- Shabbat HaGadol- March 27, 2010
• Times Change, Attitudes Change- Do Words Change? - May 22, 2010
• The Flotilla Fiasco- Sh'lach L'cha- June 5, 2010
• A Great Moral Issue of Our Time - Vayera - October 23, 2010

2009

• The Mitzvah to Contribute- Terumah- February 28, 2009
• The On-Going Struggle for Freedom- Vayikra- March 28, 2009
• Tum'ah and Taharah on Shabbat Tekumah- Tazria-Metzora- April 25, 2009
• God's Providence- Sukkot- October 3, 2009
• A Serious Man- Chaye Sarah- November 14, 2009
• Appearances can be Deceiving- Toldot- November 21, 2009

2008

• The Mishkan- Terumah- February 9, 2008
• Public Needs- Pekudei- March 8, 2008
• Crimes versus Sins- Tsav- March 22, 2008
• Helping "Your Brother" - Behar- May 17, 2008
• Three Lessons from the Wilderness Generation- B'midbar- May 31, 2008
• Political Rhetoric- Sh'lach- June 21, 2008
• The Times They Are a-Changing- Ki Tetze- September 13, 2008
• "I was for it before I was against it!"- The Value of Regret- Bereishit- October 25, 2008
• The Election- Lech L'cha- November 8, 2008
• Money- Chaye Sarah- November 22, 2008
• Three Reasons Not to be Ostentatious- Especially During a Recession- Toldot- November 29, 2008
• "Milk"- Vayeshev- December 20, 2008

2007

• Reading the Exodus Story- Vaeyra- January 20, 2007
• In the Wake of Virginia Tech- Tazria-Metzora- April 21, 2007
• "Just Right"? --or "Just Right"? - Emor- May 5, 2007
• Moral Superiority- Behar Buhukkotai- May 12, 2007
• Do Not Forget!- Ki Tetze- August 25, 2007
• Kohelet at Sukkot? Why? - Shabbat Hol Ha-Moed Sukkot- September 29, 2007

2006

• Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. - Vayehi - January 14, 2006
• Not Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World- B'Shallach- February 11, 2006
• Combined Jewish Philanthropies- Ki Tissa- March 18, 2006
• A Letter from Persia- Emor- May 13, 2006
• The Spirit of Change- Naso- June 10, 2006
• The Turning Point- B'haalotcha- June 17, 2006
• Soul-Searching and the Tochacha- Ki Tavo- September 9, 2006
• The Question of Torture- Bereishit- October 21, 2006
• The Uniqueness of the Story of Noah's Ark- Noah- October 28, 2006
• What Does it Mean to Call Upon the Name of the Lord?- Lech L'cha- November 4, 2006
• The Righteousness Uncertainty Principle- Vayetze- December 2, 2006

2005

• A Response to Murderous Zeolotry- Mas'ei- August 5, 2005
• Restoring Our Brothers' Losses- Ki Tetze- September 17, 2005
• Is Today Two Days After Yom Kippur or Two Days Before Sukkot?- Ha'azinu- October 15, 2005
• The Evolution of Sibling Relationships in the Torah- Toldot- December 3, 2005

2004

• Martin Luther King Day - January 19, 2004
• Reflections on Mel Gibson's Depiction of the Passion of Jesus of Nazareth- Terumah- February 28, 2004
• "One Nation Under God?"- Vayikra- March 2004
• The Use and Misuse of Money- Ki Tissa- March 13, 2004
• "Dayeinu! But is it enough for us?"- Vayakhel-Pekudei- March 20, 2004
• Humiliation as Blasphemy- Emor- May 8, 2004
• Reflections on the Death of President Ronald Reagan - Sh'lach L'cha - June 11, 2004
• Korach v. Moses- Korach- June 19, 2004
• Wells of "Contention" and "Hostility"--or of "Wide Open Spaces"- Toldot- November 13, 2004
• The Power of Intimacy- Vayiggash- December 18, 2004

2003

• The Fog of Holiness and the Fog of War- Pekudei- March 8, 2003
• Minimizing the Contamination of War- Parah- March 22, 2003
• Who to Quarantine- and Who Not to Quarantine- Tazria- April 5, 2003
• How Not to Complain- B'haalotcha- June 21, 2003
• Israel- An "Ahuzat Olam" - Chaye Sarah- November 22, 2003

2002

• The Uses and Abuses of Biblical Stories- Bo- January 19, 2002
• Yitro (Jethro): The Model Ger Tsedek- Yitro- February 2, 2002
• Why are there so many Jewish Lawyers?- Mishpatim- February 9, 2002
• How is this Passover Different from all other Passovers?- Vayakhel-Pekudei- March 9, 2002
• Will the Plant be Uprooted? - Aharei Mot- April 20, 2002
• Hanokh La – Na'ar Al Pi Darko- Emor- April 27, 2002
• It is not up to you to complete the task, but neither are you free to desist from it - B'midbar- May 11, 2002
• Labor Day- Nitzavim-Vayelech- September 2, 2002
• "Go Forth!"- into a Challenging, at times Hostile, World- Lech L'cha- October 19, 2002
• Truth: A Grievous Casualty- Chaye Sarah- November 2, 2002
• Before Whom and To Whom We Pray- Vayetze- November 16, 2002
• The Voice is the Voice of Jacob - A Tribute to Abba Eban - Vayishlach - November 23, 2002

2001

• Life: A Meta-Mitzvah- Nitzavim- September 15, 2001

2000

• The Importance of Jewish Peoplehood- Shekalim- March 3, 2000
• Labor Day 2000- September 4, 2000

1992

• Lessons for Our New President- November 7, 1992

HIGH HOLIDAY SERMONS BY YEAR

2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 

1999 | 1998 |1996|  1995 | 1994 | 1993

2010 - 5771

• “In the Spiritual Gym” — Erev Rosh Hashanah
• “The More Things Change, the More the Challenges Remain the Same” — Rosh Hashanah Day 1
• “Let This Be Your Legacy” — Rosh Hashanah Day 2
• “The Time to Re-invent Ourselves” — Kol Nidre
• “Stop the World, I want to get off!” — Yom Kippur

 

2009 - 5770

• “Greetings on Erev Rosh Hashanah” — Erev Rosh Hashanah
• “Don’t Worry, Be Happy!” — Rosh Hashanah Day 1
• “Snapshots from an Interfaith Trip to Israel” — Rosh Hashanah Day 2
• “Let’s Start Over, Together, Here, Now” — Kol Nidre
• “Kherpat Ra’av: The Shame of Hunger” — Yom Kippur

 

2008 - 5769

• “Do You Like Lobster?” — Rosh Hashanah Day 1
• “The Walled Garden” – Rosh Hashanah Day 2
• “Why Are You Here?” — Kol Nidre
• “What Do We Wish For?” — Yom Kippur

 

2007 - 5768

• “Does Religion Poison Everything? (A Response to God Is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens)” — Rosh Hashanah Day 1
• “Ascending the Hierarchy of Holiness” – Rosh Hashanah Day 2
• “Compiling a Yom Kippur ‘Life List’” — Kol Nidre
• “Writing Ourselves into the Book of Life” — Yom Kippur

2006 - 5767

• “It’s Not Over” – Rosh Hashanah Day 1
• “Jewish Identity in Wal-Mart Country–and Elsewhere” – Rosh Hashanah Day 2
• “Re-Shaping Our Souls” — Kol Nidre
• “Being Present” — Yom Kippur

 

2005 - 5766

• “Finding A Place to Pray” – Erev Rosh Hashanah
• “Our Eyes Have Been Opened” – Rosh Hashanah Day 1
• “The Tenth Trial” – Rosh Hashanah Day 2
• “The Art of the Apology” – Kol Nidre
• “Is Jewish Survival Enough?” – Yom Kippur
• “Yizkor, Shmini Atzeret, and Simchat Torah”– Shmini Atzeret Yizkor

 

2004 - 5765

• “Getting Started” – Erev Rosh Hashanah
• “Who is an Authentic Jew?” – Rosh Hashanah Day 1
• “Israel: The Reality” – Rosh Hashanah Day 2
• “To Tell The Truth” – Kol Nidre
• “Two Kinds of Hillel Sandwich” – Yom Kippur

 

2003 - 5764

• “Changing (or Re-Charging) our Spiritual Batteries” – Erev Rosh Hashanah
• “Yom Tov and Yom Norah” – Rosh Hashanah Day 1
• “Je me souviens: I Remember Who I Am” – Rosh Hashanah Day 2
• “Who Shall Live and Who Shall Die” – Kol Nidre
• “Be an Important Person” – Yom Kippur

 

2002 - 5763

• “Blessings for Good and in Vain” – Erev Rosh Hashanah
• “The Tower of Terror” – Rosh Hashanah Day 1
• “Maintaining Hope in Difficult Times” – Rosh Hashanah Day 2
• “Teshuvah—Better Late Than Never” – Kol Nidre
• “Names” – Yom Kippur

 

2001 - 5762

• “Bearing Unspeakable Loss” – Rosh Hashanah Day 1
• “What is Zionism?” – Rosh Hashanah Day 2
• “Three Ways Our Memories Can Fail Us: And What To Do About It” – Kol Nidre
• “Lessons From the Obituary Page” – Yom Kippur

 

2000 - 5761

• “Americans or Jews? and Other Questions in the Wake of the Lieberman Nomination” – Rosh Hashanah Day 1
• “The Zionist Dream...and the Reality” – Rosh Hashanah Day 2
• “Taking Time to Smell the Roses” – Kol Nidre
• “Three Hidden Truths: Living With Uncertainty” – Yom Kippur

 

1999 - 5760

• “Life, The Movie” – Rosh Hashanah Day 1
• “Israel Sermon” – Rosh Hashanah Day 2
• “How Is This Night Different?” – Kol Nidre
• “The Broken Tablets: Living With Loss” – Yom Kippur

 

1998 - 5759

• “Taking Abraham's Journey” – Rosh Hashanah Day 1
• “Israel: The Sealed Room in Which We're Clustered Together” – Rosh Hashanah Day 2
• “Choices That Matter” – Kol Nidre
• “The Knowable and the Unknowable” – Yom Kippur

1996 - 5757

• "Shalom, Shalom , La-Rakhok v'la Karov" - Erev Rosh Hashanah
• "Questions That Can Give Life Meaning" - Rosh Hashanah Day 1
• "Jewish Life in Multi-Cultural America" - Rosh Hashanah Day 2
• "Creating a Yom Kippur Home Page" - Kol Nidre
• "Alone and Together - Reflections on 'Bnei Maron' in the U'Netaneh Tokef " - Yom Kippur

1995 - 5756

• "Pray with a Community" - Erev Rosh Hashanah
• "Fiddler on the Roof" - Rosh Hashanah Day 1
• "The Ties that Bind Us" - Rosh Hashanah Day 2
• "Intimacy in the Age of E-mail" - Yom Kippur
• "Who Shall Live and Who Shall Die" - Yizkor, Yom Kippur

1994 - 5755

• "Going, Going, Gone" - Rosh Hashanah Day 1

1993 - 5754

• “Looking in the Mirror” – Kol Nidre