Sermons
-
Where was the first Jewish homeland? I would wager that 99 our of 100 people would answer, “Eretz Yisrael.” Indeed, when Avraham reaches Eretz Canaan, God tells him, “to you I shall give this land.” We are linked to Eretz Yisrael from the dawn of our existence as a people. But that would not be a…
-
A good Hassidic story ends with a pithy punch-line that exposes some profound wisdom regarding the human condition. I’m going to begin this morning by sharing a Hassidic tale with you, but not a story about a great or minor rebbe, but a story of a true interaction between a Boro Park Jewish saleswoman and my mother.…
-
One spring during college, a week or two before Pesach, I joined a small group of students to assist a prison chaplain in leading a seder at a local prison. As it turned out, most of the prisoners attending the seder were not Jewish (I suppose that’s a good thing). They were at the seder because they…
-
Before I speak, I’d like to say something… Actually, I’d like to say three things, which I will try to tie together. I suspect many of you saw the large poster when you came into shul this morning advertising an event we are running with AIPAC a week from this Thursday evening. I think it will be…
-
“Har HaBayit B’Yadeinu – the Temple Mount is in our Hands” that cry, by IDF Col. Motta Gur remains one of the most dramatic moments in Modern Jewish history, a climactic memory of the Six Day War, and a date which is commemorated as Yom Yerushalayim in many congregations, including this one. But, three days…
-
Thankfully, when it was my turn for guard duty at Yeshivat Hamivtar, outside Efrat, the most interesting parts of the experience were the conversations with the reserve-soldiers who would be paired with us for a three-hour guard shift, one from 12 until 3, another from 3 until 6. There was the Internet Service Provider customer-service representative who…
-
Large volumes of Talmud on the shelf of my childhood home set our family’s home apart from the homes of every one of my friends. Relics from my father’s own past as a yeshiva student, they were artifacts from a different universe. “Did you know, David” my father once asked me, “that there is an…
-
Without question, the best job in all of Jewish folklore was the job of being the wagon driver of the Baal Shem Tov. Rabbi Yisrael Baal Shem Tov, the founder of the Hassidic movement, was a constant traveler and would journey from town to town, sometimes alone, sometimes with one or more disciples, spreading his message of…
-
It has been noted that in ancient times, people were more bothered by the philosophical challenge of “rasha v’tov lo” the prospering of the wicked. In modern times, we tend to be more bothered by the philosophical and religious problem of “tzadik v’rah lo” a righteous person who unjustly suffers. But, in Tanakh, we can also…
-
A biology course that I took in college taught me something important about religion. Steven J. Gould, the great evolutionary biologist, taught a survey course at Harvard which he ambitiously called “A History of Life.” Professor Gould was a devoted educator, with a strong sense of commitment to his students – even those students who were…
- 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 