Sermons
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Three shemitah cycles ago, back in 2008, Sara and I lived and studied in Israel and had the experience of observing the special laws of shemitah, the Sabbatical year. We were not property owners and did not farm, and so the main way in which our lives were implicated by these mitzvot were through the…
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At least one time in my life I accepted rebuke. When I was eighteen or nineteen years old and in my first year in yeshiva, a group of us went somewhere together, had an interaction with someone who was not part of our group, and once we were back alone together we began to make…
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The Baal Shem Tov, the almost mythological – but actually historic – founder of the Hasidic movement in 18th century Ukraine owned magical horses. Story after story speaks of his exploits and adventures. He would climb into his carriage, his driver, Alexi, would say to him, “rabbi, where to today?” and the Baal Shem Tov…
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I vividly remember pushing Noam in a stroller in a crowded Washington Heights pharmacy on a Friday afternoon when he was perhaps four months old. I turned a corner and his stroller bumped into another stroller inhabited by a baby Noam’s age. The woman pushing the stroller saw Noam and exclaimed to the baby in…
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Rabbi Yehuda Amital z’l was a tremendous scholar and a sophisticated speaker but he spoke and wrote in a plainspoken style. And one of his plainspoken and pithy observations about Parashat Bereishit has been lovingly preserved among his students. אני לא מבין שום דבר בפרשת בראשית – אני לא יודע מה זה תוהו, אני לא…
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Two years ago, I prepared a whimsical and informative Dvar Torah for Shimini Atzeret which I printed before yom tov, brought to shul, and have never delivered. Last year I spoke about the impossible task of commemorating a tragedy that was still ongoing. Today, as we mark the second yahrzeit of those killed on October…
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In recent days I may have shared with a few of you how much I appreciate the first coffee after Yom Kippur and several of you sent me very sweet notes on Friday morning hoping that I’m enjoying that coffee. Well, friends, I have something to share with you. My first coffee after Yom Kippur…actually…
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Many years ago my father in law shared a helpful mnemonic for remembering the six fast days of the Jewish calendar. They are, the black and the white, the man and the woman, and long and the short. The “black” fast is Tisha b’Av when we cover the shul in black drapes and sit in…
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Why was Noah instructed to build an Ark? This seems like an obvious question but there is a profound dispute between Rashi and Ramban, our greatest medieval commentaries about precisely this question. After giving Noah exact instructions about the construction of the Ark, God shares what is in store for the world: וַאֲנִ֗י הִנְנִי֩ מֵבִ֨יא…
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One of the ways that technology has addled my brain is that I find it nearly impossible to do household tasks unless I’m listening to a podcast. This is often very annoying for members of my family who sometimes expect to tell me things or ask me questions while I’m washing dishes. It also doesn’t…
- Parasha
- Acharei Mot
- Acharei Mot-Kedoshim
- Baha'alotcha
- Balak
- Bamidbar
- Behar
- Behar-Behukotai
- Behukotai
- Bereishit
- Beshalach
- Bo
- Chayei Sara
- Devarim
- Eikev
- Emor
- Ha'Azinu
- Hol HaMoed Sukkot
- Hukkat
- Hukkat-Balak
- Kedoshim
- Ki Teitzei
- Ki Tissa
- Kol Nidre
- Korach
- Lekh Lekha
- Ma'asei
- Matot
- Matot Ma'asei
- Miketz
- Mishpatim
- Naso
- Nitzavim
- Nitzavim-Vayeilech
- Noach
- Pekudei
- Pinchas
- Re'eh
- Rosh Hashanah
- Shavuot
- Shekalim
- Shemot
- Shimini Atzeret
- Shlach
- Shmini
- Shoftim
- Tazria
- Tazria Metzora
- Terumah
- Tetzaveh
- Toldot
- Tzav
- Va'Etchanan
- Vaera
- Vayakhel
- Vayakhel-Pekudei
- VaYechi
- Vayeilech
- Vayera
- VaYeshev
- VaYetzei
- VaYigash
- Vayikra
- VaYishlach
- Yitro
- Yom Ha'atzmaut
- Yom Kippur
- Passover
- Shavuot
- Year
Rabbi David Wolkenfeld 