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:…
Torah Thoughts – Ki Tavo – Deuteronomy 26:1-29:8 – “Joy and Sadness in Entering the High Holy Days”
This week’s Torah portion, Ki Tavo, means “when you enter.” As we move to the conclusion of Deuteronomy, Moses is preparing the people for their arrival in the Holy Land. I always love how this portion coincides with the Shabbat…
Torah Thoughts – Ki Teitzei – Deuteronomy – 21.10-25.19 – “Getting Max Home Safely”
There is an old brown St Bernard named Max that on occasion winds its way around the interconnected streets of our neighborhood and plops itself down on our front lawn. Out of breath from his journey through various backyards, we…
Einstein and the Rabbi: Searching for the Soul. by Dr. Robert S. Marcus
Sometimes a single quote, read at the right time, can send the reader off on a journey to learn more about its context and origins. This is what happened to Rabbi Naomi Levy, who read a profoundly moving letter from…
Torah Thoughts – Shoftim – Deuteronomy 16.18-21.9 – “This is An Hour of Change”
There is an English reading in the Mishnah Tefillah prayer book that I often read on Friday night. It speaks of the transition between day and night as being a pivotal moment of crossing over. I love the sense the…