It’s All About Perspective
Judaism has many gifts to offer the world. The Sabbath, the Psalms, centuries of musical legacy, and of course, bagels. But our most important contribution is a concept called, “machloket l’shem shamayim.” The phrase comes from the ancient rabbinic literature....
Yizkor Sermon
Sinai and Grief: We wander in the desert together In psychiatrist Elisabeth Kulber-Ross’s book “On Death and Dying,” she identifies five stages of grief that people experience after the loss of a loved one. While every person grieves in their own way, there are...
Yom Kippur Sermon
Avinu Malkeinu in 5782 As you hear the beautiful notes that Cantor Marer just sang, what comes to mind? Is it hearing the Avinu Malkeinu a specific location? Was it a particular High Holy Days when this prayer was especially meaningful to you? Was it who was sitting...
Yom Kippur Sermon
Finding Tears of Strength Almost two years ago we gathered together at Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church to support one another in the aftermath of a terrible attack on a church in Sri Lanka. The interfaith community had been so kind and responsive to all of us...
Rosh Hashanah sermon
A New Look At Old Commandments I remember the discomfort I first felt, when I was told there was a stained glass window of Moses holding the Ten Commandments in our building. These days it is somewhat out of the way, hidden from direct view, but long-time IHC’ers...
Erev Rosh Hashanah sermon
A Most Difficult Year There are two great bodies of water in the holy land of Israel. They could not appear to be more different, and yet they are both nourished by the very same Jordan river. When visiting the North of Israel, no trip is complete without visiting...
Rabbi Jordana Chernow-Reader’s Yom Kippur Sermon: Choose Life
As I begin my sermon this afternoon, I invite you to close your eyes and take a deep breath. Now I have a question for you: do you know anyone who is living or has lived a meaningful life? What is it about their lives that makes it so fulfilling? Take a moment,...
Rabbi Jordana Chernow-Reader’s Rosh Hashanah Sermon: Un’taneh Tokef
Who will live and who will die? Today on our day of confessions, I have a confession to make. This will come as no surprise to people who have spent time with me, but the truth is, I am a bit of a control freak. I like things the way I like them. I like when things...
Rabbi Krichiver’s Yom Kippur Sermon: Grace
In one of the most well-known Talmud stories, a man comes to the famous sage Shammai to ask if he might convert. The man says, “If you can teach me the entire Torah while standing on one foot, I will convert.” Shammai proceeds to beat the man with a stick. What is...
Rabbi Krichiver’s Rosh Hashanah Sermon: Empathy
There is a moment each year in which I personally prepare for the High Holy Days. It usually occurs only a few days before services. All our cues are prepared, books are set out, the wall between the Social Hall and the Sanctuary is opened, and pristine lines of...
