Sermons
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I received a fantastic email the other week: a list of 50 “intellectual jokes.” Apparently, I’m not such an intellectual because I didn’t understand all of the jokes. But I really liked this one: A linguist is someone who loves syntactic ambiguity more than most people. Syntactic ambiguity is a phrase or sentence that, no…
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Why is Genesis in the Torah? It is a counter-intuitive question – how could the Torah not contain the account of Creation? The flood? The stories of the patriarchs and matriarchs? But Rashi begins his commentary to the Torah with this question and provides a famous answer. The Torah is a book of mitzvot –…
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Why does God want our prayers? We are fasting. We are tired. We are hungry and we are weak. But, despite our weariness, we come together in shul to pray for hour after hour. There is no other day in the year that is as filled with prayers as is Yom Kippur. What difference does…
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The hero of Rosh Hashanah is Avraham. Yesterday we read the story of the long-awaited birth of his son Yitzhak, as well as how, at God’s command, Avraham was prepared to lose his beloved son Yishmael – who was saved at the last minute in a miraculous fashion. Today we read how, again, at God’s…
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There was once a king who was traveling to a village in a far-off corner of his kingdom. When he reached the village, the people came to greet him and called out to him, “give us laws and new decrees!” The king responded to them, “first, accept my sovereignty and kingship, and only then will…
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It has been very encouraging to read the list each week of new members who have made the step of joining our community. There is an exciting dynamic in this shul because so many of you – so many of us – were not here only a few months ago. But this dynamic is not…
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There is a story about a rabbi who very carefully prepared his drashot each week and would type them out very neatly to read from the pulpit. After his drasha he would place his papers, face down in a pile just next to his pulpit. Week after week, month after month, year after year, the…
- 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 