Entries from August 2008
When I was a kid, I use to fish. My ninth grade science teacher taught me that the most important thing one can develop in fishing is consistency. R’eih also wants us to be consistent…consistently good. So why is it that the relationships we try to develop with other religious groups often goes in the wrong direction all too quickly? It seems that every time an evangelical minister seems to make sense and relates to the Jewish community or does some good, inevitably there is a proverbial foot-in-mouth that follows. After seeming to bring the country together and attempting to make some sense out of the 2008 election (which I spoke of this past weekend) Reverend Warren managed to demonstrate the limits of his understanding. Sadly, I feel the need to remind Rev. Warren and all of us that consistency in our relationships in paramount to creating sacred connections.
Rick Warren’s Comments
TIME - Rick Warren
Tags: Sermon
A conversation was held this week that was unusual in our national life. Our presidential contenders were interviewed by Rev. Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in California. He asked them about their own moral failures and those of our nation. Oddly our Torah portion this week also contains a set of what God wants from us individually and as a society. Sadly, when it comes to our personal struggles, we often share a similar problem. Our difficulty is transcending ourselves and becoming aligned with God’s wishes. What are those, and what does a mirror teach both Jews and Muslims? Please listen and reflect.
CNN - Saddleback video of interviews
Rabbi Wolpe - “Seeing Ourselves”
Story of Shibli and the Dog (page down to near end of passage)
Tags: Sermon
Once Upon a Time …
How do we open up and learn what is important from a religion, culture or society? Sometimes it takes the ability to read about the most important figures in another world in order to understand what they value and why. Unfortunately, there are those who would like to keep images as icons, or at least the use the fear of possibly insulting a religious symbol to either protect…or suppress literature. What does a story about the last wife of Muhammad and the voyages of science fiction have in common? Please listen and consider…
Akiba - Fox and the Fish
WSJ - “You Still Can’t Write About Muhammad”
Tags: Sermon
Shalom and thank you for joining me this week. We are looking at parashat Devarim and how we look at words. There are times when words have many meanings and we use and create with them. Yet at other times we want to have a solid understanding of words and their meanings. What happens when we are too liberal with an interpretation and what happens when we are too narrow in our understandings? I hope you will listen and wish you Shalom…and all that this word entails!
A Stolen Note
Tags: Sermon
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