Posted in Sermon on May 16th, 2008 No Comments »
What do we learn from a loaf of bread? This weeks Torah portion gives us some unusual mitzvot to observe in the Land of Israel, but are they so strange? We are to treat the land as if it had feelings and could be harmed. Perhaps the Torah and rabbis were not so far off in a physical sense (land conservation and global warming). What about the metaphorical understanding of this passage? What do we learn when we extend concern to inanimate objects? Listen and find out.
The First Bat Mitzvah
The Sabbath - AJ Heschel
The music you hear on this podcast is by Suzanne Teng and available for download or by CD from Magnatune.
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Posted in Sermon on May 9th, 2008 No Comments »
This week’s Torah portion is a list of qualifications for the priests and about time. Now in the middle of an election cycle, we seem to focus on the perfection of our choices and the time when things enter the media. Are there certain things that really damage and taint a leader? Perhaps there needs to be one and it found its way into our neighborhood as of late. This devar was delivered at our Kehilah of Lower Merion meeting this past Monday.
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Posted in Sermon on Apr 30th, 2008 No Comments »
Greetings! We thought we had lost this recording due to technical glitches, but we found it! So what does an interfaith family add to a synagogue beyond being a member? How have attitudes changed over time and whither the Jewish community today on this ever increasingly important issue? Listen and find out.
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Posted in Sermon on Apr 19th, 2008 No Comments »
This week I am going to get something off my chest about the political/religious discussion that erupted in the past few weeks. While I don’t agree with Rev. Wright’s comments, I think we have to look at his charge as a minister and at the connection between a politician (and for that matter ALL politicians) and their spiritual leaders. Was Wright right? Hmmm…. Even if you don’t agree with him, he was carrying out his charge to his community. However, this episode brings up bigger issues about religion, culture and the homogenization we think translates into the ‘right’ answers in our society. Are they the right answers or the Wright answers and are the so different?
Trinity United Church of Chirst
The United Church of Christ Contract
The Reform Responsa - Freedom of the Pulpit
WHYY Radio Times Interview - (always) Worth a listen
News and Notes on Wright
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Posted in Sermon on Apr 12th, 2008 No Comments »
We had a visitor at Beth David this week from Rabbi Lev Baesh.
Rabbi Baesh is the rabbi for Interfaithfamily.com, a non-profit organization that helps families find their way into the Jewish world and the interfaith world through information, resources and training Jewish leaders to understand the issues all synagogues and Jewish institutions face in meshing people from different faith backgrounds. This is a wonderful interview about the resources and people who are trying to create paths to a Jewish involvement and life. I hope you enjoy.
Music you hear on this podcast is by Trip Wamsley and Suzzanne Teng and is available through download or CD from Magnatune.com.
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Posted in Sermon on Apr 7th, 2008 No Comments »
Ahhh…leprosy, of all the Torah portions that might challenge a darshan (Hebrew for preacher), you have to love this one. I have spoken about this topic every year for over a decade, and this week we need to look at it in a new light. Many of the challenges we face now carry leprosy, or at least a hint of it.
NPR: News and Notes
Music you hear on this podcast is from Magnatune and features the work of the group Panacea.
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Posted in Sermon on Mar 27th, 2008 No Comments »
Shalom and welcome!
First, this podcast has a live recording of me playing guitar and singing Halleluyah at a Tot Shabbat Service during our most recent Synaplex. It is a less than perfect recording (hey, it’s live) and I was sick at the time, but I hope you enjoy this short piece of opening music. This week there is an archive sermon from a few years ago. When the Second Temple was destroyed in the year 70 CE, the Jewish community was thrown into theological quandary. The Temple was the focal point of Jewish religious observance. Out of this moment the synagogue gained primacy, and introduced a different way of looking at how we would survive in the future. What was the secret? For that you’ll need to listen.
The other music you hear this week is by Suzanne Teng and can be found and purchased at Magnatune.com.
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Posted in Sermon on Mar 15th, 2008 No Comments »
Shabbat Zachor is one of a handful of Shabbatot where the Torah is set up to reinforce the message of a holiday. This Shabbat is meant to remind us of why Haman is about to lose yet again, (though some think this might be his year 
). In looking at the bad guys we remember, we can also learn moral lessons for ourselves, specifically regarding how we deal with enemies. We might even find that God forgives those who we might not.
Shabbat Shalom
Saul
Amalek
Agag
Purim
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Posted in Sermon on Feb 29th, 2008 No Comments »
This week’s Torah portion is about Moses gathering the community to assemble the tabernacle. As I thought about this image, I also thought about the image of this podcast and the people who have helped me with advice, creative ideas, and insights. So this week’s program is about the community of you and I think you will be surprised to find that you are all over the map….literally.
Magnatune.com
Paul Douglas Boyer’s show
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Posted in Sermon on Feb 22nd, 2008 No Comments »
How do we look for a candidate? Who should we choose? While this is not meant to endorse anyone, it is meant to endorse an idea and a vision. In Israel the national anthem is “Hatikvah” literally translated, “the hope.” Perhaps “the hope” is how we need to look for our leaders. This is a sermon from a few weeks ago right after a ‘Super’ week.
“And they haven’t” Speech
“Yes we can!” Speech
Music heard on this podcast is available for purchase from Magnatune.com.
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Posted in Sermon on Feb 14th, 2008 No Comments »
This week Steven Spielberg decided to quite the Beijing Olympics. His attempts to influence other parts of China’s foreign policy failed and he did something which the Chinese government is scared anyone can do, he gave public voice to protest over Darfur. In the criticism of his actions I saw the moral equivocation that is so common today, but it doesn’t hold water. Additionally I saw Mr. Spielberg look to his roots and a moral charge from Pirkei Avot.
UK Times Online Article
Music you hear on this podcast is available at Magnatune.com and created by the artist Trip Warmsley.
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Posted in Sermon on Feb 4th, 2008 No Comments »
This week is an archive sermon, but it seems more than a little b’shert (Yiddish for apropos in this context). With Super Tuesday with us this sermon delves into what it means to be a thoughtful Reform Jew and why where one of our candidates announced their run for the office matters. Who in this great contest of democracy decided to announce a run for the White House from the Henry Ford Museum? Listen and learn.
Candidate Announces
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Posted in Sermon on Jan 23rd, 2008 No Comments »
This was our healing service week and we delved into the differences between healing according to our institutions and healing in our own souls. What is the Jewish connection to healing and what is closest to all of us at taught in the Torah? Listen and find out.
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Posted in Sermon on Jan 12th, 2008 No Comments »
We welcomed our new Siddur this week at Beth David. Mishkan Tefillah has been ‘in the works’ for several years, but its true evolution has occurred over the 150+ years of Reform Jewish history in this country. This sermon is told from the point of view of the Siddur coming to a new congregation, where it came from and what its purpose is for the congregation. What is involved in creating a Siddur and why would it change? Listen and discover.
1885 Pittsburgh Platform
1937 Columbus Platform
1976 San Francisco Platform
1999 Pittsburgh II Platform
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Posted in Sermon on Jan 9th, 2008 No Comments »
The hardening of Pharaoh’s heart seems to bother many people, however we seem to be more troubled by God doing this than the Egyptian king doing it. What happens when we find hard hearts in our society and is there little difference between Pharaoh and some of our current leaders? This is an archive sermon from a year ago.
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