It was a beautiful summer day; I was about 6 years old and playing with my little brother in a second floor room of our suburban Boston house. We were horsing around near the windows when I distinctly remember my mom yelling to my brother, “Nate, don’t lean on the...
Do our words really matter? In his sermon Friday evening, Rabbi Bill Kuhn explored how every time we speak to another, we have the opportunity to heal or to hurt, to lift up or to tear down. When we speak ill of someone, the words spread around like the feathers...
There were many profound moments throughout my young adult life that led me to the rabbinate. One of the most powerful of these came during a Shabbat evening when I was an impressionable freshman at Brandeis University. We had just finished dinner and were sitting down to listen to a...
Our tradition sometimes speaks to us in a still, small voice. In a passage from the prophets, God illustrates to the prophet Elijah, Eliyahu HaNavi, where to find God’s presence. God creates a furious wind, but God is not in the wind. God then creates an earthquake, but God is...
During the nine Friday nights from July 5th through August 30th, we will offer a newly updated version of what has become a great tradition at Rodeph Shalom. Throughout our summer Shabbat services, we will focus on one common theme: the presence of Jewish values in otherwise secular encounters we...
Lee Herman’s remarks upon receiving the Hineni Award in May 2013 I am pleased to accept the Hineni Award from Rodeph Shalom. Hineni means “Here I Am” and is found in Genesis when Adonoi called to Abraham and Abraham answered “Hineni” or “Here I Am.” While this recognition acknowledges that...
Andrea Kamer’s remarks upon receiving the Hineni Award in May 2013 As some of you know, I was born and raised in Springfield, Missouri. Springfield is a city of about 150,000 people with a Jewish community of 100 families. When I lived there, every Jew in Springfield belonged to the...
Michael Hauptman’s remarks upon receiving the Hineni Bezalel Award in May 2013: There are so many talented, hard-working people in this congregation who give so much of their time and energy, that for me to be singled out for this award is as baffling as it is appreciated. Thank you...
Join us at RS tomorrow, Wednesday, June 5 at 7:00 pm for Love and Let Love: The State of LGBT Civil Rights in Pennsylvania. When the Israelite scouts went to survey the land in last week’s Torah portion Shlach Lecha from the Book of Numbers, were Caleb and Joshua really...
It’s graduation season. Those of us who have the opportunity to address a group of college graduates, high school graduates or Confirmation students consider how to reduce all of life’s lessons down to a few simple rules. While it may be a trite endeavor, it’s a powerful opportunity to remind...
