Sermons
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Following Shacharit on Yom Kippur of 5610, in September 1849, Rabbi Yisrael Salanter, the famous and pious Vilna rabbi – founder of the Mussar Movement, dedicated to injecting the pursuit of ethical excellence into traditional Jewish observance, ascended the bimah of the Vilna synagogue. He explained to the congregation that because of the raging cholera…
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This was a difficult sermon to write. I had cleared a few hours one afternoon to write. I thought leaving the office and heading to a nearby coffee shop would present me with fewer distractions. I got to the coffee shop, ordered my drink, sat down, took a few sips, and then spent the next…
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Rabbis share professional advice with each other. There are “tricks of the trade” and received wisdom that we pass to each other from rabbi to rabbi, from year to year. One such professional rule of thumb is that we should wait five years before repeating any joke that we tell as part of a sermon. We…
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Some of you may remember the group of Christians who visited our shul before Tisha b’Av from Living Water Bible Camp in rural Wisconsin. This Christian camp had a summer program devoted to comparative religion and the participants visited Chicago, experiencing first-hand some of the religious diversity that our city can offer, and that is…
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Three or four years ago, our community in Princeton had difficulty finding a babysitter for the last days of Pesach. Pesach coincided with Easter that year and our usual babysitters for Shabbat morning were all celebrating one of the two holidays. We realized that a Muslim student would be the ideal babysitter and that is how we…
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I want to begin by thanking all of you for your sympathy and support following the death of my grandmother last week. Sara and I are very grateful. I’m returning to New York on Wednesday and our entire family will return to Chicago the following Sunday. We are eager to begin our second year together in…
- 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 