Rabbi Jim Egolf’s Podcast

Many have a problem with this Torah portion because we read it in light of our own understanding of freewill.  However the adding of weight or ‘hardening’ of Pharaoh’s heart had religious ramifications in Egyptian mythology.  Thus when the Egyptian leader first weighted down his own heart, he was committing a transgression against his own religious teachings.  What does this do to our understanding of the central story of Passover, and what does it mean when we see hardened hearts as the basis of the views of evangelical leaders in our country, or as a default position as we try to have a reasonable health care policy?  We may find out that ‘hardened hearts’ still surround us.

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These are the comments at our last Bridges program.  Bridges is the program that speaks to the transitions in life and how we address these moments a Jews.

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This podcast will focus on the the issues surrounding Laban, Iran and Israel.  How could these be connected (you might ask)?  Let’s just say that nuclear threats, stealing a Nobel Prize, and executing people sentenced to ten years in prison should make us wonder about the stability (mental and otherwise) of the Iranian regime.  Additionally, when Israel arrests a woman for wearing a tallit, all Jews should pause and wonder.

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This week we saw one of the Wall Street heavy weights come out and claim to do God’s work among other things.  Forget the fact that CNBC reported that almost 8,000,000 homes have either been foreclosed upon or are in danger.  Or that Wall Street executives seem to have greater access to the H1N1 vaccine than even hospitals, or that the average bonus (not salary) of a Goldman Sachs employee will be almost $700,000 this year.  It is time that we reject the apology offered by Mr. Blankfein and invite him and those like him to set a new trajectory for ethics in American business.  I don’t know about you, but I am tired of feeling like Easu when all the financial deals are done and we are left with a bowl in a soup line.

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This week I am going to explore the most prominent non-Jew in our Torah portion, Ishmael and ask us to consider what he teaches us about ourselves.  I am doing this because Beth David is a part of InterFaithways Shabbat, a city-wide effort to deepen our relationships and understandings with interfaith families.  I will also end the sermon with a list of 10 things we need to keep in mind when welcoming interfaith families and the challenges synagogues need to overcome.

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This might make us wonder.

http://www.jew-ish.com/index.php?/stories/item/3142

Here is a piece of the chanted Hebrew and translation of Parashat Hashavuah (the weekly Torah portion).

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The name for an angel and a human messenger has never been clear in Hebrew texts.  This makes some wonder why the Torah and Jewish literature did not strive for a distinction, yet maybe there is a reason for this.  Perhaps the reason lends itself to why we need to hear God’s word regardless of the source.

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Thank you for continuing or beginning to listen if this is your first time.  These are the opening verses of the Torah portion for this week in Hebrew and then chanted in English.

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Sorry, no podcast yet this week, but this article popped up on CNN (of all places).

‘New Jews’ stake claim to faith, culture

Hi,

In order to add something new this year.  I will try giving you a ‘taste’ of the Torah portion chanted according to the Masoretic text.  This is how many synagogues hear the scroll and I have included a translation of the text which is chanted according to the trope marks.

Here is last week’s parasha, Bereshit.

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This Yom Kippur saw the end of a 104 history of a synagogue where I once served as the ‘traveling rabbi.’  Beth-El of Lexington Mississippi closed its doors at the end of Neilah, the end of the Yom Kippur service this year.  While the community was small, it always sought to include everyone which is something our synagogue and our wider community struggles to do today.  L’dor V’Dor (generation to generation) is something we proclaim in Judaism, yet when we try to live it we find that we may need to think of our community in a different way.

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Kashrut, or keeping kosher, is often something we don’t think about in Reform Judaism.  Yet, perhaps we as Reform Jews need to be at the forefront of teaching what it means not just to eat by this word, but to live by it.  With the horrible conditions in Postville, IA and the lack of condemnation from those who follow the dietary laws of kashrut, it is a reminded that we need to follow the moral lessons of kashrut and what it means to live by them today.

UPDATE: Glad to see Richard Joel, President of Yeshiva University take a stand.  Click here for article.

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Coming to terms with the reality of our lives is often difficult.  We want to believe in the fantasy of the fairytale ending, but more often than not, we find that fairytales end in disappointment.  Unataneh Tokef is often considered the most hated prayer in our liturgy, yet it is also the one that expresses the greatest truths about our lives.  We (my wife and I) live a year that seemed to mirror this prayer, yet we found ourselves able to return to life.  Returning to life, … is this not the message of Rosh Hashannah?

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