A few weeks ago, our Shabbat morning service group had a decision to make. After two years of pandemic precautions where we were almost exclusively on Zoom, it was time for us to return to in person gatherings. The only…
Torah Thoughts – Noah – Genesis 6:9-11:32 – “Noah’s 7 Lessons for Ecological Disasters”
The story of Noah from Genesis 6, perhaps one of the most popular in all of the Biblical canon, is now, in the 21st Century, probably one of its most important. Looking back at the ancient text we have not…
Torah Thoughts – Bereishit – Genesis.1.1-6.8 – “We’ve Got the Whole Torah in Our Hands”
When we unroll the Torah on Simchat Torah – which we did this past Sunday for the first time since 2019 – I often sing the song: “I’ve got the whole Torah in my hands.” There is something so special…
Torah Thoughts – Sukkot – Exodus 33:12-34:26; Numbers 29:26-31 – “Ritual Power”
There was a moment during Yom Kippur that was truly magical. It was during the Yizkor service, when I was reading the list of names of people who died in the past year. There was a large glass bowl sitting…
Torah Thoughts – Ha’Azinu Deuteronomy – 32:1-32:52 – “Choose Buffalo by Julian Hanesworth”
This week’s Torah portion, Ha’Azinu, features Moses’ final poem to the People of Israel. In honor of it, I offer you a poem I shared on Yom Kippur by the first Buffalo poet laureate Julian Hanesworth, written after the 5/14…
Torah Thoughts – Vayeilech – Deuteronomy 31:1-31:30 – “Yalla! Let’s Go Already!”
One of my favorite expressions you will hear throughout the Middle East is Yalla. Yalla is a compound Arabic word meaning O Allah or O God. It is the type of exclamation you can throw in anywhere. If you want…
Rabbi Alex Lazarus-Klein High Holy Days Sermons 2022/5783
Erev Rosh Hashanah Sermon Text Rosh Hashanah Day 1 Sermon Text Kol Nidrei Text Yom Kippur Morning Text
Text Study for 2nd Day of Rosh Hashanah – Unbinding the Binding of Isaac
Torah Thoughts – Nitzavim – Deuteronomy 29:9-30:20 – “None of Us Were at Sinai: So What!”
According to tradition, the gathering at Sinai this week’s Torah portion, Parashat Nitzavim, includes not only the tribal leaders, elders, Israelite households, strangers in their midst, from woodchoppers and water drawers, but us as well. The Torah states in Deuteronomy 29:13-14:…