First Morning Rosh HaShanah: Managing Transitions (delivered by Rabbi Sacks on September 16, 2023) My roommate tells me: “I think it’s time we address the elephant in the room.” I respond: “Okay, where are we sending it?” I bought my friend an elephant for his room. He said, “Thanks.” I said, “Don’t mention it.” On […]
Parashat Ki Tavo: Paying Attention This Coming New Year (Torah study led by Rabbi J.B. Sacks on September 2, 2023) We are all preparing for Rosh HaShanah. These preparations should include more than considerations of holiday dinner menu, getting apparel off to the dry cleaners, and making sure we return our forms from the High […]
Parashat Ki Tavo: How to Bring Bikkurim (delivered by Rabbi J.B. Sacks on September 1, 2023) Tomorrow’s Torah reading speaks of the bringing of bikkurim, first fruits, to the Temple, during which they would make a specific declaration. This declaration presents the precise wording that the farmer used when addressing G!d. Later the Mishnah[1] records […]
Parashat Shoftim: Who Judges Your Gates? (delivered by Rabbi Sacks on Saturday, August 19, 2023) Prince, the great musician, singer, and songwriter,[1] famously told the Los Angeles Times in 2009 that “the gatekeepers must change.” While he was speaking in a different context, his suggestion might well apply to our preparation for the High Holy […]
Parashat Shoftim: Justice, Justice Let Us Pursue (delivered by Rabbi Sacks on Friday, August 18, 2023) Over the last several millennia, humanity has developed a large and growing body of profound writings, words which encapsulate the hopes, aspirations and potential of the human soul. Across the globe, religious traditions rightly exult in the majesty and […]
The Book of Lamentations: Ten Responses to Tragedy & Grief[1] (A Torah Discussion led by Rabbi J.B. Sacks on July 22, 2023) Our primary text for Tishah B’Av is the biblical book of Eichah, named Lamentations in English. The book contains five poems (one chapter each), each written by different anonymous authors in the aftermath […]
First Haftarah of Admonition [Jeremiah 1:1-2:3]: Lessons from an Almond Tree (Torah discussion led by Rabbi J.B. Sacks on Shabbat Pinchas–July 8, 2023) Starting today, none of the next ten weeks will feature haftarah selections associated with the Torah portion. Rather, today, we read the first of three haftarot of admonition, since we just recently […]
Parashat Pinchas: “She Never Told Her Love” (D’var Torah delivered by Rabbi J.B. Sacks on July 7, 2023) Henry Peach Robinson was a nineteenth-century English photographer who was best known for pioneering the technique of joining multiple negatives or prints to form a single image. His most famous work, “Fading Away,” is a great example […]
Parashat Emor: For What Should I Compromise on Religious Observance? (A d’var Torah delivered by Rabbi J.B. Sacks on May 6, 2023) Around the corner and half way up the street was an small Orthodox synagogue, housed in a converted home. They were small and only met on Shabbat and holy days. Their president davened […]
Parashat Lech L’cha: Lot’s Got Plenty o’ Nuttin’ (delivered by Rabbi J.B. Sacks on November 4, 2022) I remember the thrill of seeing Porgy and Bess for the first time. It was a 1935 English-language tragic opera by George Gershwin.[1] It features a cast of classically trained African-American singers, a daring artistic choice at the […]